Atomic layer deposition device applied to optical workpiece coating
By designing multifunctional reaction chambers and different component brackets, conventional equipment cannot meet the thin film deposition problem of optical components of different shapes, double-sided and batch coating of optical components are realized, and coating efficiency and equipment applicability are improved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422264858.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-14
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-01
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-09-14
AI Technical Summary
Conventional atomic layer deposition equipment cannot meet the thin film deposition of optical elements of different shapes, and cannot realize double-sided coating of optical elements.
A multifunctional reaction chamber is designed, including a lifting chamber cover and a vacuum chamber, and different component brackets are provided, such as cubic prism component brackets, single-layer multi-piece brackets and batch brackets. Both sides of the optical element are coated simultaneously through suspension, and batch processing is supported.
It broadens the application scope of the equipment, saves equipment costs, realizes double-sided simultaneous coating and batch coating of optical components, and improves coating efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure CN223047591U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to an atomic layer deposition device applied to optical workpiece coating, belonging to the technical field of optical coating. Background Art
[0002] Optical coating refers to depositing one or more thin films on the surface of an optical element to change the reflection, transmission, absorption and other characteristics of light on the element surface. The thickness of the optical coating is generally at the nanometer level. Although very thin, it plays a huge role, which can increase the light transmittance of the element, reduce reflection, and improve color rendition. The application fields of optical coating are very extensive. In the glasses industry, coating technology can improve the light transmittance and anti-reflection performance of lenses, giving wearers a more comfortable visual experience; in the field of camera lenses, coating technology can improve the color rendition and clarity of lenses, enabling photographers to capture more real and delicate pictures; in the aerospace field, high-performance optical coatings can improve the observation accuracy of satellites and space telescopes; in the medical field, optical coating technology can be used to manufacture high-precision medical devices and optical instruments, providing strong support for medical diagnosis and treatment.
[0003] At present, optical coating technologies include electron beam evaporation coating, ion beam sputtering coating, magnetron sputtering coating and chemical vapor deposition coating. Among them, the atomic layer deposition technology in chemical vapor deposition coating technology is widely used because of the advantages of the prepared thin film being dense and pinhole-free, good uniformity, precise controllability of film thickness, good conformal property, ability to prepare laminated films with various doping ratios, low deposition temperature and excellent process repeatability. The atomic layer deposition technology is a special chemical vapor deposition technology, which is a technology of alternately pulsing gas-phase precursors into the reaction chamber and chemically reacting on the substrate surface to form a thin film. Optical coating is usually relatively complex and challenging. To prepare an optical thin film with excellent optical properties (extremely high transmittance, extremely low reflectance or high reflectance), it is necessary to precisely control the thickness and refractive index of the thin film, have good thin film uniformity and stability, and a suitable thin film layer structure design. These requirements need to use advanced thin film deposition technology, control technology and precise process control. The characteristics of the atomic layer deposition technology meet the requirements of optical coating.
[0004] However, optical elements have various shapes, such as prisms, plane mirrors, lenses, cylindrical mirrors, aspherical mirrors, 3D elements, etc. Conventional atomic layer deposition equipment (the cavity is suitable for depositing flat substrates) can no longer meet the thin film deposition of optical elements with different shapes. Moreover, many optical elements need to be coated on both sides, while conventional atomic layer deposition equipment usually places the deposited sample on a platform and cannot achieve double-sided coating simultaneously. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an atomic layer deposition equipment specifically for optical coating. Summary of the Utility Model
[0005] In order to solve the problem that the existing conventional atomic layer deposition equipment cannot meet the thin film deposition of optical components with different shapes, the present utility model provides an atomic layer deposition device applied to the coating of optical workpieces. By improving the reaction chamber and the sample placement method, a multifunctional reaction chamber is provided, which broadens the application range of the equipment and saves the equipment cost.
[0006] The atomic layer deposition device applied to the coating of optical workpieces provided by the present utility model includes a lifting cavity cover, a vacuum cavity 3 and a cavity base 4. The lifting cavity cover includes a lifting mechanism 1 and a cavity cover 2. Above the inner part of the cavity cover 2, a hook 11 is provided for hanging the component bracket. Different component brackets are designed for different optical components, including a cubic prism component bracket 12, a single-layer multi-chip bracket 16 and a batch bracket 17. A reaction chamber 14 is arranged in the vacuum cavity 3.
[0007] In an embodiment, the cubic prism component bracket 12 is composed of at least three bracket-shaped support arms. Each support arm is circumferentially distributed around the same virtual longitudinal axis. The cubic prism component can be suspended in the reaction chamber 14 under the common support of several support arms, so as to realize simultaneous coating on both the inner and outer surfaces.
[0008] In an embodiment, the single-layer multi-chip bracket 16 is a suspendable fixture with a plurality of hollow holes of different shapes and sizes for placing optical components of different shapes and sizes. The optical components are clamped at the hollow holes, so that both surfaces to be coated can contact the precursor, thereby realizing double-sided coating simultaneously.
[0009] In an embodiment, the batch bracket 17 is composed of N multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the upper part, N - 1 multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the lower part and two multi-chip bracket ends 19. Both ends of all the multi-chip bracket tubes 18 are respectively fixed on the two multi-chip bracket ends 19. The N - 1 multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the lower part are used to support the optical components to be coated, and the N multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the upper part are used to fix the positions of the optical components to be coated.
[0010] In an embodiment, a vacuum chamber air extraction port 5 and a vacuum chamber air inlet 8 are arranged on the cavity base 4. The vacuum chamber air extraction port 5 is used to evacuate the vacuum chamber 3, and the vacuum chamber air inlet 8 is used to adjust the pressure of the vacuum chamber 3. A reaction chamber large air extraction port 9 and a reaction chamber small air extraction port 10 are also arranged on the cavity base 4. The reaction chamber large air extraction port 9 is used to evacuate the vacuum chamber 3, and the reaction chamber small air extraction port 10 is used to evacuate the reaction chamber 14. A reaction chamber air extraction port 15 is arranged at the bottom of the reaction chamber 14, and the reaction chamber air extraction port 15 is connected to the reaction chamber large air extraction port 9 on the cavity base 4.
[0011] In one embodiment, a water source inlet 6 and a metal source inlet 7 are further provided on the cavity base 4. The water source inlet 6 and the metal source inlet 7 are connected to the reaction chamber 14, and are respectively used to introduce a water source and a metal source into the reaction chamber 14. The vacuum chamber air extraction port 5 is connected to the reaction chamber small air extraction port 10, and the two respectively perform vacuum pumping on the vacuum cavity 3 and the reaction chamber 14 through the same vacuum pump. The water source inlet 6 is connected to a water source pipeline, the metal source inlet 7 is connected to a metal source pipeline, and the vacuum chamber air inlet 8 is connected to a carrier gas nitrogen pipeline.
[0012] In one embodiment, the cavity cover 2 contains an upper heater, the cavity base 4 contains a lower heater, and heating wires are arranged around the reaction chamber 14 inside the vacuum cavity 3 for heating the reaction chamber 14.
[0013] Advantages of the present utility model:
[0014] The atomic layer deposition device applied to optical workpiece coating provided by the present utility model improves the reaction chamber and the sample placement method, provides a multifunctional reaction chamber, broadens the application range of the equipment, saves the equipment cost, designs different component brackets for different optical elements, and places the samples in a hanging manner, realizing the coating treatment of both sides of the optical element at the same time. Moreover, the solution of the present application also designs a batch-type bracket, which can perform batch coating treatment on optical elements, and speeds up the coating efficiency. Description of the drawings
[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the whole cavity;
[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the reaction chamber;
[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a single-layer fixture;
[0018] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a multi-piece optical workpiece bracket;
[0019] 1 - lifting mechanism, 2 - cavity cover, 3 - vacuum cavity, 4 - cavity base, 5 - vacuum chamber air extraction port, 6 - water source inlet, 7 - metal source inlet, 8 - vacuum chamber air inlet, 9 - reaction chamber large air extraction port, 10 - reaction chamber small air extraction port, 11 - hook, 12 - cube prism element bracket, 13 - cube prism element, 14 - reaction chamber, 15 - reaction chamber air extraction port, 16 - single-layer multi-piece type bracket, 17 - batch-type bracket, 18 - multi-piece bracket tube, 19 - multi-piece bracket end, 20 - square optical workpiece. Detailed implementation manners
[0020] The following is a specific description of the present utility model.
[0021] Example 1
[0022] As Figure 1 shown, the atomic layer deposition device provided by the present utility model for coating optical workpieces includes a liftable cavity cover, a vacuum cavity 3 and a cavity base 4. The liftable cavity cover includes a lifting mechanism 1 and a cavity cover 2. A hook 11 is provided at the bottom of the cavity cover 2 for hanging the component bracket. Different component brackets are designed for different optical components, including a cubic prism component bracket 12, a single-layer multi-piece bracket 16 and a batch bracket 17. A reaction chamber 14 is provided inside the vacuum cavity 3.
[0023] A vacuum chamber air extraction port 5 and a vacuum chamber air inlet 8 are provided on the cavity base 4. The vacuum chamber air extraction port 5 is used to evacuate the vacuum cavity 3, and the vacuum chamber air inlet 8 is used to adjust the pressure of the vacuum cavity 3. A reaction chamber large air extraction port 9 and a reaction chamber small air extraction port 10 are also provided on the cavity base 4. The reaction chamber large air extraction port 9 is used to evacuate the vacuum cavity 3, and the reaction chamber small air extraction port 10 is used to evacuate the reaction chamber 14. A reaction chamber air extraction port 15 is provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber 14, and the reaction chamber air extraction port 15 is connected to the reaction chamber large air extraction port 9 on the cavity base 4. A water source air inlet 6 and a metal source air inlet 7 are also provided on the cavity base 4. The water source air inlet 6 and the metal source air inlet 7 are connected to the reaction chamber 14, and are respectively used to introduce the water source and the metal source into the reaction chamber 14. The vacuum chamber air extraction port 5 is connected to the reaction chamber small air extraction port 10, and the two respectively evacuate the vacuum cavity 3 and the reaction chamber 14 through the same vacuum pump. The water source air inlet 6 is connected to the water source pipeline, the metal source air inlet 7 is connected to the metal source pipeline (such as the metal sources trimethylaluminum TMA and tetrakis(dimethylamino)hafnium TDMAHf), and the vacuum chamber air inlet 8 is connected to the carrier gas nitrogen pipeline.
[0024] The cavity cover 2 contains an upper heater, the cavity base 4 contains a lower heater, and heating wires are arranged around the reaction chamber 14 inside the vacuum cavity 3 for heating the reaction chamber 14. Since the heating components are not improved in the solution of the present utility model, all heating components are not shown in the figure.
[0025] As Figure 2 shown, the hook 11 is located on the cavity cover 2 for hanging the component bracket. Different component brackets are designed for different shaped optical components in the solution of the present utility model, including a cubic prism component bracket 12, a single-layer multi-piece bracket 16 and a batch bracket 17. As Figure 2 shown, the cubic prism component bracket 12 is composed of at least three bracket arms in the shape of square brackets, and each bracket arm is circumferentially distributed around the same virtual longitudinal axis. The cubic prism component can be suspended in the reaction chamber 14 under the common support of several bracket arms, so as to realize simultaneous coating on both the inner and outer surfaces.Figure 2 The cubic prism element bracket 12 shown is exemplified by being composed of four bracket-shaped support arms. According to the principle that three points determine a plane, the cubic prism element bracket 12 is at least composed of three bracket-shaped support arms.
[0026] It should be noted that the cubic prism element bracket 12 can be customized according to the shape and size of the optical element.
[0027] As Figure 3 shown, the single-layer multi-chip bracket 16 is a suspendable fixture with a plurality of hollow holes of different shapes and sizes for placing optical elements of different shapes and sizes. The fixture has a certain thickness. In specific implementation, in order to stably hold the optical element in the hollow hole, a groove can be provided on the inner edge of the hollow hole. The optical element can be held in the groove, and an opening is reserved at the outer edge of the hollow hole for taking out the workpiece after coating, as Figure 3 shown.
[0028] The optical element and the accompanying silicon wafer are placed on the single-layer multi-chip bracket 16, and the single-layer multi-chip bracket 16 is placed on the optical element bracket 12, then the front and back sides of the optical element and the accompanying piece can be coated. The single-layer multi-chip bracket 16 is one of the fixtures, and the fixture style can be processed according to the shape and size of the optical element.
[0029] The batch bracket 17 is composed of N multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the upper part, N - 1 multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the lower part, and two multi-chip bracket ends 19. Both ends of all the multi-chip bracket tubes 18 are respectively fixed on the two multi-chip bracket ends 19. The N - 1 multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the lower part are used to support the optical elements to be coated, and the N multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the upper part are used to fix the positions of the optical elements to be coated.
[0030] Figure 4 Shows a specific implementation manner of the batch bracket 17. The batch bracket 17 is composed of four multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the upper part, three multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the lower part, and two multi-chip bracket ends 19. The square optical workpiece 20 is located between the two multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the upper part and is placed on the multi-chip bracket tubes 18 in the lower part, with the two multi-chip bracket ends 19 on the left and right. There is a certain gap between the multi-chip square optical workpieces. At most 57 square optical workpieces 20 can be placed on the batch bracket 17 at one time. Placing the batch bracket 17 on the hook 11 can coat the front and back sides of multiple optical workpieces at one time.
[0031] The working principle of the present utility model:
[0032] Taking the coating of the cubic prism element 13 (the film material is hafnium dioxide HfO2) as an example, the hafnium dioxide HfO2 precursor is tetra(dimethylamino)hafnium TDMAHf and H2O, and the purge gas is N2. The working process of the atomic layer deposition device for coating optical workpieces provided by the present invention is introduced in detail.
[0033] The first step: Lift the chamber cover 2 by the lifting mechanism 1, place the cubic prism element 13 on the cubic prism element bracket 12, hang the cubic prism element bracket 12 with the cubic prism element 13 on the hook 11 on the chamber cover 2 of the cavity, and close the chamber cover 2 to the vacuum chamber 3 by the lifting mechanism 1;
[0034] The second step: Open the valves on the vacuum chamber exhaust port 5 and the reaction chamber small exhaust port 10 (the valves are not shown in the figure), evacuate the vacuum chamber 3 and the reaction chamber 14 by the vacuum pump, turn on the upper heater in the chamber cover 2, the lower heater in the chamber base 4, and the heating wire arranged around the reaction chamber 14 inside the vacuum chamber 3 for preheating for 30 - 60 minutes, and set the coating temperature to 200 - 250 °C;
[0035] The third step: Set the flow rate of the purge gas to 50 - 200 sccm, make the pressure in the reaction chamber 14 less than the pressure in the vacuum chamber 3 (to prevent the precursor from running from the reaction chamber into the vacuum chamber), keep the pressure P1 in the reaction chamber 14 at 30 - 50 Pa, keep the pressure P2 in the vacuum chamber 3 at 300 - 500 Pa, and set the precursor pulse time and purge time;
[0036] The fourth step: Start coating, open the valve on the delivery pipeline of the precursor source tetra(dimethylamino)hafnium TDMAHf for 20 - 500 ms, purge with N2 for 5 - 30 s, open the valve on the water source pipeline for 20 - 100 ms, purge with N2 for 5 - 30 s, and the number of cycles is 300 times.
[0037] The fifth step: After the coating is completed, take out the cubic prism element 13 for film thickness testing.
[0038] If it is an optical element of other shapes, the single-layer multi-chip bracket 16 and the batch bracket 17 can be correspondingly used to carry the optical element, which will not be elaborated here.
[0039] Although the present invention has been disclosed above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can make various modifications and decorations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims.
Claims
1. An atomic layer deposition device for coating optical workpieces, characterized in that: The device comprises: a lifting chamber cover, a vacuum chamber (3) and a chamber base (4), wherein the lifting chamber cover comprises a lifting mechanism (1) and a chamber cover (2), a hook (11) is arranged at the bottom of the chamber cover (2) for hanging an element bracket; the element bracket comprises a cubic prism element bracket (12), a single-layer multi-piece bracket (16) and a batch bracket (17); and a reaction chamber (14) is arranged in the vacuum chamber (3).
2. The atomic layer deposition device for optical workpiece coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cubic prism element support (12) is composed of at least three bracket-shaped support arms, and each support arm is circumferentially distributed around the same virtual longitudinal axis.
3. The atomic layer deposition device for optical workpiece coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The single-layer multi-piece bracket (16) is a hangable fixture, on which a plurality of hollow holes of different shapes and sizes are provided, for placing optical elements of different shapes and sizes.
4. The atomic layer deposition device for optical workpiece coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The batch type support (17) is composed of N multi-piece support tubes (18) at the top, N-1 multi-piece support tubes (18) at the bottom, and two multi-piece support ends (19), wherein both ends of all the multi-piece support tubes (18) are respectively fixed to the two multi-piece support ends (19), the N-1 multi-piece support tubes (18) at the bottom are used to support the optical elements to be coated, and the N multi-piece support tubes (18) at the top are used to fix the position of the optical elements to be coated.
5. The atomic layer deposition device for optical workpiece coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chamber base (4) is provided with a vacuum chamber exhaust port (5) and a vacuum chamber air inlet (8), wherein the vacuum chamber exhaust port (5) is used to realize vacuuming treatment of the vacuum chamber (3), and the vacuum chamber air inlet (8) is used to realize pressure regulation of the vacuum chamber (3); the chamber base (4) is also provided with a reaction chamber large exhaust port (9) and a reaction chamber small exhaust port (10), wherein the reaction chamber large exhaust port (9) is used for exhausting gas from the vacuum chamber (3), and the reaction chamber small exhaust port (10) realizes vacuuming treatment of the reaction chamber (14); a reaction chamber exhaust port (15) is provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber (14), and the reaction chamber exhaust port (15) is connected to the reaction chamber large exhaust port (9) on the chamber base (4); the vacuum chamber exhaust port (5) is connected to the reaction chamber small exhaust port (10), and the two realize vacuuming treatment of the vacuum chamber (3) and the reaction chamber (14) respectively through the same vacuum pump.
6. The atomic layer deposition device for optical workpiece coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: A water source air inlet (6) and a metal source air inlet (7) are also provided on the chamber base (4); the water source air inlet (6) and the metal source air inlet (7) are connected to the reaction chamber (14) and are used to respectively introduce a water source and a metal source into the reaction chamber (14).
7. The atomic layer deposition device for optical workpiece coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chamber cover (2) contains an upper heater, the chamber base (4) contains a lower heater, and a heating wire is arranged around the reaction chamber (14) inside the vacuum chamber (3) to heat the reaction chamber (14).