Conveying system and space atomic layer deposition equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of space atomic layer deposition, and discloses a conveying system and space atomic layer deposition equipment, the conveying system comprises a driving unit and a carrying table, the driving end of the driving unit is provided with a gear, and the carrying table is provided with a rack meshed with the gear; the carrying table is used for carrying a to-be-plated workpiece in a reaction chamber of the space atomic layer deposition equipment, the driving unit is used for driving the carrying table to move, and when the gear rotates, the rack does linear motion; by adopting the conveying system provided by the utility model to convey the to-be-plated workpiece, the matching of the gear and the rack can provide higher moving precision, so that the moving position of the to-be-plated workpiece is more accurate, the uniformity of a film is ensured, meanwhile, as the gear and the rack are mutually meshed, the abrasion rate is lower, the condition that the reaction environment is polluted by abrasion particles is reduced, and the service life of the film is prolonged. And the film quality is improved from multiple aspects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of space atomic layer deposition, in particular to a transmission system and vacuum space atomic layer deposition equipment. Background Art

[0002] Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (SALD) is a variant of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). SALD technology uses inert gases to isolate different precursor gases in different spatial regions. At the same time, the workpiece moves between the various precursor reaction areas, undergoing different chemical reactions in sequence, and completing the rapid deposition of multi-layer thin films on the workpiece surface. The production efficiency is higher than that of traditional ALD technology.

[0003] In order to achieve relative movement between the workpiece and the air injection area, a conveying system is usually set up in the reaction chamber of the SALD equipment to carry and drive the workpiece to perform rotational motion or linear motion so that it passes through different reaction areas. Among them, the linear conveying system currently used to drive the workpiece to perform linear motion includes a roller track conveying system, which can drive the workpiece to perform unidirectional motion or reciprocating motion. However, the continuous contact between the roller and the track is likely to generate wear particles. These particles are difficult to effectively remove in the high vacuum environment of the reaction chamber, and may contaminate the reaction environment in the reaction chamber and reduce the quality of the thin film deposited on the workpiece. At the same time, the track is prone to produce tiny vibrations, deformations or slippage during movement, which in turn causes deviations in the moving position of the workpiece, resulting in poor film uniformity. Utility Model Content

[0004] The utility model discloses a conveying system and a space atomic layer deposition device, which are used to solve the technical problem that a linear conveying system for conveying workpieces in an existing space atomic layer deposition device easily leads to poor quality of a thin film deposited on the workpiece.

[0005] The utility model provides a conveying system applied to a space atomic layer deposition device, the conveying system comprising: a driving unit and a carrier;

[0006] The driving end of the driving unit is provided with a gear;

[0007] The carrier is provided with a rack meshing with the gear;

[0008] The carrier is used to carry the workpiece to be plated in the reaction chamber of the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment;

[0009] The driving unit is used to drive the platform to move, and when the gear rotates, the rack moves linearly.

[0010] Optionally, the delivery system further comprises a bracket;

[0011] The platform is rotatably provided with a pulley;

[0012] The bracket is provided with a guide rail adapted to the pulley;

[0013] The length direction of the guide rail is the same as the moving direction of the carrier.

[0014] Optionally, a rotation axis is fixedly provided on the bottom of the carrier;

[0015] The axis of the rotating shaft is perpendicular to the horizontal plane;

[0016] The pulley is rotatably arranged on the bottom of the carrier through the rotating shaft;

[0017] A bearing is installed between the rotating shaft and the pulley.

[0018] Optionally, a groove extending along the rotation direction of the pulley is provided on the wheel surface of the pulley;

[0019] The guide rail is provided with a convex strip matched with the groove.

[0020] Optionally, the groove is a V-shaped groove.

[0021] Optionally, the pulleys are multiple in number and are divided into at least two columns, each column including more than one pulley;

[0022] Each row of pulleys is arranged at the bottom of the platform along the moving direction of the platform.

[0023] Optionally, the bearing is a sealed bearing.

[0024] Optionally, the driving unit includes a transmission mechanism and a driving device;

[0025] The transmission mechanism includes the gear and a magnetic fluid sealing transmission device;

[0026] The magnetic fluid sealing transmission device is sealed and installed in the reaction chamber wall of the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment;

[0027] One end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device is connected to the gear, and the other end of the rotating shaft is drivingly connected to the driving device;

[0028] The driving device is arranged outside the reaction chamber.

[0029] Optionally, the transmission mechanism further includes a driven shaft;

[0030] One end of the driven shaft is connected to the rotating shaft through a coupling, and the other end of the driven shaft is connected to a gear.

[0031] A second aspect of the present invention provides a spatial atomic layer deposition device, comprising a conveying system as described in any one of the above items.

[0032] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the present invention has the following advantages:

[0033] The utility model provides a conveying system and space atomic layer deposition equipment for use in space atomic layer deposition equipment, wherein the conveying system includes a driving unit and a carrier, a driving end of the driving unit is provided with a gear, and a rack meshing with the gear is provided on the carrier, the carrier is used to carry the workpiece to be plated in the reaction chamber of the space atomic layer deposition equipment, the driving unit is used to drive the carrier to move, and when the gear rotates, the rack moves in a straight line; the conveying system provided by the utility model is used to convey the workpiece to be plated, and the coordination of the gear and rack can provide higher movement accuracy, so that the moving position of the workpiece to be plated is more accurate, and the uniformity of the thin film is ensured. At the same time, due to the mutual meshing of the gear and rack, it has a lower wear rate, reduces the situation where wear particles pollute the reaction environment, and improves the quality of the thin film from many aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a transmission system provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a drive unit provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the partial structure of a transmission system provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0038] Figure 4 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the pulley and guide rail provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0039] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of the pulley and guide rail provided in an embodiment of the present utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The embodiment of the utility model discloses a conveying system and a space atomic layer deposition device, which solves the technical problem that a linear conveying system for conveying workpieces in an existing space atomic layer deposition device easily leads to poor quality of the thin film deposited on the workpiece.

[0041] The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solution of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating positions or relationships, are based on the positions or relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are intended solely to facilitate the description of this utility model and simplify the description. They do not indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0043] Unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed, removable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediary; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in this utility model based on specific circumstances.

[0044] See also Figure 1 , a conveying system provided in an embodiment of the present utility model is applied to a space atomic layer deposition device, and the conveying system includes: a driving unit 1 and a carrier 2;

[0045] The driving end of the driving unit 1 is provided with a gear 11;

[0046] The carrier 2 is provided with a rack 4 meshing with the gear;

[0047] The carrier 2 is used to carry the workpiece to be plated in the reaction chamber of the space atomic layer deposition equipment;

[0048] The driving unit 1 is used to drive the carrier 2 to move. When the gear 11 rotates, the rack 4 moves linearly, driving the carrier 2 and the workpiece to be plated on the carrier 2 to also move linearly.

[0049] It can be understood that when the conveying system provided by the present invention is used to convey the workpiece to be plated, the coordination of the gear and rack can provide higher movement accuracy, making the movement position of the workpiece to be plated more accurate, ensuring the uniformity of the film, and at the same time, since the gear and rack are meshed with each other, it has a lower wear rate, reducing the contamination of the reaction chamber by wear particles, thereby improving the film quality in many aspects.

[0050] In addition, in actual application, those skilled in the art can design the speed of the driving end of the adaptive drive unit 1, the gear rack transmission ratio and the amount of process gas sprayed by the spray head of the spray unit 3 of the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment, so that the amount of reaction gas on the surface of the workpiece to be plated can be accurately controlled, so that the coating thickness is more accurate and uniform; at the same time, the forward and reverse rotation of the driving end of the drive unit 1 can be set to realize the reciprocating motion of the carrier carrying the workpiece to be plated, that is, when the workpiece moves to the maximum distance, the driving end of the drive unit 1 stops rotating forward, and then the driving end of the drive unit 1 reverses to move the workpiece in the opposite direction to realize reciprocating motion, and the number of forward and reverse rotations of the driving end of the drive unit 1 can be adjusted to adjust the maximum distance of the reciprocating motion, so that the time of a movement process matches the time when the deposited layer is completely adsorbed on the workpiece. The above description is the method content that can be implemented by technical personnel based on common knowledge. These method contents are not within the scope of this solution. The above description is only combined with common knowledge to illustrate the beneficial effects that can be achieved by improving this hardware structure.

[0051] In a preferred embodiment, see Figure 3 The transmission system provided by the present invention also includes a bracket 5; a pulley 6 is rotatably provided on the carrier 2; a guide rail 51 adapted to the pulley 6 is provided on the bracket 5; the length direction of the guide rail 51 is the same as the movement direction of the carrier 2.

[0052] It can be understood that the bracket 5 is mainly used to support the entire conveying system and provide a stable structural foundation for the conveying system; the stationary parts in the drive unit 1 can be fixedly connected to the bracket 5 to ensure the position stability of components such as the gear 11, rack 4, and guide rail 51, to avoid unnecessary displacement or vibration during operation, thereby affecting the accuracy of the carrier 2; the setting of the guide rail 51 and the pulley 6 can ensure that the carrier 2 moves strictly according to the predetermined trajectory to avoid deviation.

[0053] Although the precursor gas in the reaction chamber is sprayed from the shower head onto the workpiece to be plated on the front surface of the stage 2, a small amount of unreacted precursor gas molecules will leave the reaction area and deposit on the surfaces of other components in the reaction chamber. It may deposit at the rotational connection between the pulley 6 and the stage 2, affecting the rotation of the pulley 6. Therefore, further, a rotating shaft is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the stage 2. The axis of the rotating shaft is perpendicular to the horizontal plane (i.e., perpendicular to the surface of the stage 2 for carrying the workpiece to be plated). The pulley 6 is rotatably arranged at the bottom of the stage 2 through the rotating shaft, and a bearing is installed between the rotating shaft and the pulley 6. Rotatably arranging the pulley 6 at the bottom of the stage 2 can keep the rotational connection between the pulley 6 and the stage 2 away from the reaction area, reducing the unintended deposition here. Further still, the bearing is preferably a sealed bearing, and a sealing ring 61 is arranged between the outer ring and the inner ring of the bearing, which can prevent precursor molecules from entering the inside of the bearing and depositing at the cage and rolling elements inside the bearing, avoiding the influence of unintended deposition on the rotation of the pulley 6.

[0054] To ensure the stability of the balanced movement of the stage 2, the number of pulleys 6 is multiple, at least divided into two columns, each column includes more than one pulley, and each column of pulleys is arranged at the bottom of the stage 2 along the movement direction of the stage 2, and each column is symmetrically distributed at the bottom of the stage 2.

[0055] Further, please refer to Figures 4 to 5 , a groove 62 extending along the rotation direction of the pulley 6 is formed on the wheel surface of the pulley 6; a rib 511 adapted to the groove 62 is arranged on the guide rail 51.

[0056] It can be understood that the rib 511 on the guide rail 51 and the groove 62 on the pulley 6 are engaged with each other. The rib 511 can play a role in guiding and bearing, making the pulley 6 not prone to lateral deviation during movement, improving the stability and accuracy of the movement.

[0057] It should be noted that the cross-section of the groove 62 perpendicular to its length direction can be in the shape of a U-shaped, V-shaped, etc. Correspondingly, the shape of the rib 511 is adapted to the shape of the groove 62; the groove 62 is preferably a V-shaped groove, which can reduce the direct contact area between the pulley 6 and the guide rail 51 compared with other shaped grooves, reducing the wear rate of the pulley 6, and at the same time having good stability and guiding properties; the groove 62 is more preferably a rounded V-shaped groove, and the top of the corresponding rib 511 is also an arc surface, which can disperse the force at the top of the rib 511, avoid stress concentration, and reduce the wear rate of the rib 511.

[0058] In a specific embodiment, the bottom of the platform 2 can be divided into a first area and a second area along the central axis of the same moving direction of the platform 2, and a plurality of pulleys 6 are divided into four columns, and each column of pulleys is arranged at the bottom of the platform 2 along the moving direction of the platform 2, two of which are arranged in the first area of the bottom of the platform 2, and the first guide rail is arranged between the two columns. The convex strips 511 corresponding to the two columns of pulleys are respectively arranged on both sides of the guide rail 51, and the other two columns of pulleys are arranged in the second area of the bottom of the platform 2, and the second guide rail is arranged between the two columns. The pulleys of each column are symmetrically distributed at the bottom of the platform 2 along the central axis of the same moving direction of the platform 2; in this specific embodiment, each pulley can be formed into a group with pulleys in the same area, such as Figure 1 The four pulleys with similar positions in the middle are a group; a fixed block 7 can be set between each group of pulleys and the carrier 2. Specifically, the fixed block 7 is fixedly set at the bottom of the carrier 2, and the pulley arrays of the same group are distributed and rotated at the bottom of the same fixed block 7. The fixed block 7 can play a role in dispersing and balancing the force.

[0059] In a preferred embodiment, see Figure 2 , the driving unit 1 includes a transmission mechanism and a driving device 13;

[0060] The transmission mechanism includes a gear 11 and a magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12;

[0061] The magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12 is sealed and embedded in the reaction chamber wall of the space atomic layer deposition equipment;

[0062] One end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12 is connected to the gear 11, and the other end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12 is drivingly connected to the driving device 13;

[0063] The driving device 13 is disposed outside the reaction chamber of the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment.

[0064] It can be understood that one end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12 (i.e., the driving end of the aforementioned drive unit 1) is connected to the gear 11, which can be a direct connection method such as key connection, interference fit, threaded connection, welding, etc., or it can be indirectly connected through a driven shaft 14 and a coupling 15. In a specific embodiment, the transmission mechanism also includes a driven shaft 14 connected between one end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12 and the gear 11, one end of the driven shaft 14 is connected to the rotating shaft through a coupling 15, and the other end of the driven shaft 14 is connected to the gear 11, which can reduce the influence of the vibration generated when the gear 11 and the rack 4 are engaged on the sealing performance of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device 12; a bearing 16 is provided on the outside of the driven shaft 14, and the driven shaft 14 is fixedly connected to the inner ring of the bearing 16, and the outer ring of the bearing 16 is fixedly connected to the shaft seat 17, and the entire drive unit 1 can be fixedly connected to the bracket 5 through the shaft seat 17.

[0065] In this preferred embodiment, the driving device 13 can adopt a driving device that outputs rotational motion, such as a servo motor or a motor; since the driving device 13 generates heat during operation, if the driving device 13 is directly installed in the reaction chamber of the space atomic layer deposition device, the heat may not be effectively dissipated in the reaction chamber, which may cause the temperature inside the reaction chamber to rise, affecting the reaction environment; the driving device 13 may generate a small amount of oil mist during operation, which will pollute the reaction environment in the reaction chamber; at the same time, the driving device 13 specifically used for operation in a vacuum environment requires special materials and designs to withstand vacuum conditions, and the equipment cost is relatively high; therefore, the driving device 13 is arranged outside the space atomic layer deposition device and is transmitted through the magnetorheological sealing transmission device 12, which can not only use air convection to dissipate heat, maintain the temperature inside the equipment stable, and avoid the oil mist generated during operation from polluting the reaction environment, but also reduce the equipment cost of the driving device 13.

[0066] Furthermore, a synchronous belt assembly 18 is connected between the end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealed transmission device 12 that is drivingly connected to the drive device 13 and the drive device 13. The drive device 13 generates vibrations during operation. This vibration is directly transmitted to the magnetic fluid sealed transmission device 12, which may affect the sealing performance of the magnetic fluid sealed transmission device 12. However, the synchronous belt assembly, which transmits vibrations between the drive device 13 and the magnetic fluid sealed transmission device 12, can provide a certain degree of vibration isolation, thereby reducing the impact of vibration on the magnetic fluid sealed transmission device 12.

[0067] A second aspect of the present invention provides a spatial atomic layer deposition device, comprising a conveying system as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0068] It should be noted that the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment provided by the present invention also includes a reaction chamber and a spray unit 3. The carrier 2 and the spray unit 3 of the conveying system are arranged in the reaction chamber. The spray unit 3 is provided with multiple spray heads for spraying inert gas or precursor gas. The surface of the carrier 2 for carrying the workpiece to be plated faces the spray head outlet of the spray unit 3.

[0069] The above is a detailed introduction to the conveying system and spatial atomic layer deposition equipment provided by the present invention. For those skilled in the art, based on the ideas of the embodiments of the present invention, there may be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

Claims

1. A conveying system, applied to a space atomic layer deposition device, characterized in that: The transmission system includes: a driving unit, a carrier and a bracket; The driving end of the driving unit is provided with a gear; The carrier is provided with a rack meshing with the gear; The carrier is used to carry the workpiece to be plated in the reaction chamber of the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment; The driving unit is used to drive the platform to move, and when the gear rotates, the rack moves linearly; The platform is rotatably provided with a pulley; The bracket is provided with a guide rail adapted to the pulley; The length direction of the guide rail is the same as the moving direction of the carrier.

2. The conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that A rotating shaft is fixedly provided at the bottom of the carrier; The axis of the rotating shaft is perpendicular to the horizontal plane; The pulley is rotatably arranged on the bottom of the carrier through the rotating shaft; A bearing is installed between the rotating shaft and the pulley.

3. The conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that The pulley surface is provided with a groove extending along the rotation direction of the pulley; The guide rail is provided with a convex strip matched with the groove.

4. The conveying system according to claim 3, characterized in that The groove is a V-shaped groove.

5. The conveying system according to claim 1, wherein: There are multiple pulleys, which are divided into at least two columns, and each column includes more than one pulley; Each row of pulleys is arranged at the bottom of the platform along the moving direction of the platform.

6. The conveying system according to claim 2, characterized in that The bearing is a sealed bearing.

7. The conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that The driving unit includes a transmission mechanism and a driving device; The transmission mechanism includes the gear and a magnetic fluid sealing transmission device; The magnetic fluid sealing transmission device is sealed and installed in the reaction chamber wall of the spatial atomic layer deposition equipment; One end of the rotating shaft of the magnetic fluid sealing transmission device is connected to the gear, and the other end of the rotating shaft is drivingly connected to the driving device; The driving device is arranged outside the reaction chamber.

8. The conveying system according to claim 7, characterized in that The transmission mechanism further includes a driven shaft; One end of the driven shaft is connected to the rotating shaft through a coupling, and the other end of the driven shaft is connected to a gear.

9. A spatial atomic layer deposition device, characterized in that: Comprising the conveying system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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