Low-energy PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating device

Abstract

The low-energy PVD coating device comprises a sputtering cathode, the sputtering cathode is loaded with a target material, the target material and a substrate are oppositely arranged, and the target material generates film material particles under the action of an electric field of the sputtering cathode; the energy adjusting plate is positioned between the substrate and the sputtering cathode and is provided with a via hole; the collision particle pipeline is connected with the collision particle source, the collision particle source is internally provided with preset inert gas, a gas outlet end opening of the collision particle pipeline is formed in the energy adjusting plate, and the conveyed inert gas moves towards the target material; the kinetic energy of the inert gas is smaller than that of the film material particles. As the inert gas has a relatively fixed flowing direction and is opposite to the incident direction of the film material particles, the energy of the film material particles is reduced from a high-energy state to a state close to the energy state of the just emitted gas particles through energy exchange of elastic collision, so that the film material particles with very low energy are obtained, and stable low-energy deposition coating is realized.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The low-energy coating film relates to the field of low-energy coating film, in particular to a low-energy PVD coating film device. BACKGROUND

[0002] PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) technology refers to a technology for depositing a special function film on a substrate surface by using a physical method to vaporize a material source surface into gaseous atoms or molecules or partially ionize into ions under vacuum conditions, and through a low-pressure gas or plasma process. The PVD coating film technology is mainly divided into three categories: vacuum evaporation coating film, vacuum sputtering coating film and vacuum ion coating film. The main methods of physical vapor deposition include vacuum evaporation, sputtering coating film, arc plasma coating film, ion coating film and molecular beam epitaxy. The corresponding vacuum coating film equipment includes a vacuum evaporation coating film machine, a vacuum sputtering coating film machine and a vacuum ion coating film machine.

[0003] Organic materials or some materials with special physical properties, such as low melting point, high-energy particle bombardment or temperature sensitivity, may change their physical properties due to high temperature during PVD, thereby failing to achieve the predetermined effect. The sputtering coating film has high energy, which can solve the problems of uniformity and adhesion, but the film forming energy is high, the temperature is high, and the substrate is easily damaged, which becomes an obstacle to the research and development of new materials. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a low-energy PVD coating film device which can solve the problem of high coating film energy causing damage to the substrate.

[0005] The embodiment of the present application is implemented as follows:

[0006] The low-energy PVD coating film device of the present application comprises:

[0007] A sputtering cathode is used to generate an electric field and is loaded with a target material, the target material is arranged opposite to the substrate to be coated, and the target material generates film material particles moving in a first direction under the action of the electric field of the sputtering cathode, the first direction being a direction towards the substrate;

[0008] An energy adjusting plate is located between the substrate and the sputtering cathode and has a via hole for the film material particles to pass through;

[0009] A collision particle pipe is used to connect with a collision particle source, the collision particle source has preset inert gas inside, the gas outlet port of the collision particle pipe is arranged on the energy adjustment plate and the inert gas transported moves along the second direction, the second direction is the direction towards the target material, the preset angle between the first direction and the second direction is 90°-270°, the inert gas has kinetic energy less than the kinetic energy of the film material particles.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the film coating device further comprises a cooling fluid pipe, the cooling fluid pipe is used to connect with a cooling source, the cooling source has cooling fluid inside, and the cooling fluid pipe is connected with the energy adjustment plate.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the through holes of the energy adjustment plate are arranged at equal intervals along the width direction of the energy adjustment plate, the cross section of each through hole along the width direction of the energy adjustment plate is trapezoidal, and the size of each through hole towards one side of the substrate is greater than the size of each through hole towards the target material.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the cooling fluid pipes are arranged at equal intervals, at least one cooling fluid pipe is arranged between each two through holes, and each cooling fluid pipe extends along the length direction of the energy adjustment plate.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the length of the energy adjustment plate away from the substrate is less than the length of the energy adjustment plate away from the target material.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the gas outlet port of the collision particle pipe is arranged on the side of the energy adjustment plate towards the substrate.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the film coating device further comprises a plurality of gas flow guide plates, the plurality of gas flow guide plates are arranged in sequence and connected to form a flow guide cavity with open ends, and the energy adjustment plate, the sputtering cathode and the gas outlet port of the collision particle pipe are located in the flow guide cavity.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the sputtering cathode comprises a target body and a magnet pair, the magnet is arranged in the target body and used to connect with the negative pole of an external power source to generate an electric field, and the target material is arranged on the target body and located in the electric field.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the sputtering cathode further comprises a magnetic pole shoe, the magnetic pole shoe is arranged in the target body and connected with the magnet pair.

[0018] The embodiment of the utility model has the advantages that: the inert gas has a relatively fixed flow direction, and is opposite to the incident direction of the film material particles, so that when the film material particles reach the via hole position of the energy adjusting plate, the energy exchange through the elastic collision reduces the energy of the film material particles from the high-energy state to the energy state of the gas particles just emitted, and due to the maximum loss of the opposite collision kinetic energy, the kinetic energy of the particles is further reduced, so that the film material particles with very low energy are obtained, and stable low-energy deposition coating is realized. Meanwhile, by adjusting the temperature and the air charge amount, the minimum energy and the exchange degree of the process gas particles can be controlled, and the minimum energy degree of the film material particles is also adjusted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical scheme of the embodiment of the utility model, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiment, and it should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the utility model, and should not be regarded as a limitation to the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained without creative labor on the premise of the drawings.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic view of the embodiment one of the low-energy PVD coating device of the utility model embodiment.

[0021] Figure 2 It is a schematic view of the embodiment two of the low-energy PVD coating device of the utility model embodiment.

[0022] Figure 3 It is a principle schematic view of the sputtering cathode of the low-energy PVD coating device of the utility model embodiment.

[0023] Figure 4 It is a structure view of the energy adjusting plate of the low-energy PVD coating device of the utility model embodiment.

[0024] Figure: 1, sputtering cathode;11, target body;12, magnet pair;13, magnetic pole shoe;14, sealing ring;2, target material;3, substrate;4, energy adjusting plate;41, via hole;5, collision particle pipeline;51, gas outlet port;6, cooling fluid pipeline;7, gas guide plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiment of the utility model more clear, the following will combine the drawings in the embodiment of the utility model, and the technical scheme in the embodiment of the utility model is clearly and completely described, obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of the utility model, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiment of the utility model described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0026] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely represents selected embodiments of the application. Based upon the embodiments of the application, all other embodiments that would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art and that are obtained by combining technical features hereof fall within the scope of the application.

[0027] It should be noted that similar reference numbers and characters refer to similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings.

[0028] In the description of the application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship in which the product of the application is usually placed, and are merely for the convenience of describing the application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" and the like are only used to distinguish the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0029] In addition, the terms "horizontal", "vertical" and the like do not mean that the components must be absolutely horizontal or vertical, but can be slightly inclined. For example, "horizontal" only means that its direction is more horizontal relative to "vertical", and does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly inclined.

[0030] In the description of the application, it should also be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "provided", "mounted", "connected", "linked" should be broadly understood, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the communication between two elements inside. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0031] Embodiment one

[0032] As Figure 1As shown, to address the issue of sputtering coating easily damaging the substrate 3, low-energy diffracted film particles can be generated through elastic particle collisions for deposition, thereby reducing the film deposition energy and temperature. However, this method only reduces the energy partially. The overall ambient temperature in the deposition region from the deposition source to the substrate 3 remains relatively high for the substrate material, so the minimum energy achievable by the film particles is still quite high. Furthermore, the film particles deposited using this structure are primarily diffracted particles, significantly sacrificing deposition efficiency. Therefore, low-energy deposition methods still require further exploration and improvement.

[0033] Example 2

[0034] like Figures 2 to 4 As shown in the figure, a low-energy PVD coating apparatus according to an embodiment of this application includes:

[0035] Sputtering cathode 1 is used to generate an electric field and is loaded with target material 2. Target material 2 is disposed opposite to substrate 3 to be coated. Under the action of electric field of sputtering cathode 1, target material 2 generates film particles that move in a first direction, wherein the first direction is toward the substrate 3.

[0036] Energy regulating plate 4 is located between substrate 3 and sputtering cathode 1 and has through holes 41 for film particles to pass through.

[0037] The collision particle pipe 5 is used to connect to a collision particle source. The collision particle source contains a preset inert gas. The outlet port 51 of the collision particle pipe 5 is set on the energy regulating plate 4 and the inert gas is transported in a second direction, which is towards the target material 2. There is a preset angle between the first direction and the second direction, and the preset angle ranges from 90° to 270°. The kinetic energy of the inert gas is less than that of the film particles.

[0038] In conjunction with the above embodiments, the low-energy PVD coating apparatus includes a sputtering cathode 1, an energy regulating plate 4, and a collision particle conduit 5. The sputtering cathode 1 employs a special electromagnetic structure design capable of generating a high-intensity and uniformly distributed electric field. The shape and intensity of this electric field are precisely calculated and optimized to ensure the formation of a stable plasma discharge region on the surface of the target material 2. For example, a combination of a ring-shaped permanent magnet and an electromagnetic coil can be used, and the electric field intensity can be precisely controlled by adjusting the current in the electromagnetic coil.

[0039] The target 2 is mounted using a detachable clamp, allowing for quick replacement of the target 2 according to different coating requirements. The contact surface between the target 2 and the sputtering cathode 1 is finely polished to ensure good electrical contact and thermal conductivity. In this embodiment, the target 2 is made of 99.99% pure titanium with a thickness of 10 mm.

[0040] The energy adjustment plate 4 is located between the substrate 3 and the sputtering cathode 1, and the distance from the two can be accurately adjusted according to the requirements of the film plating process. For example, the position of the energy adjustment plate 4 in the vertical direction is moved by an electric screw rod transmission mechanism, and the adjustment accuracy can reach ±0.1 mm.

[0041] The through holes 41 on the energy adjustment plate 4 are in a uniform circular array, the diameter of the through holes 41 is 5 mm, and the center distance between adjacent through holes 41 is 10 mm. The inner wall of the through hole 41 is polished to reduce the friction resistance when the film particles pass through, so as to avoid unnecessary loss of particle energy.

[0042] The collision particle pipeline 5 is made of stainless steel material with high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance, and the inner diameter of the pipeline is 10 mm to ensure that the inert gas (preferably argon) can be stably and smoothly transported. The pipeline and the collision particle source are connected by flanges with good sealing performance to prevent gas leakage.

[0043] The gas outlet direction of the gas outlet port 51 of the collision particle pipeline 5 forms a certain angle (for example, 60°) with the movement direction of the film material particles, so that the inert gas can collide with the film material particles sufficiently, effectively reducing the energy of the film material particles. The movement direction of the film material particles and the movement direction of the inert gas, i.e. the first direction and the second direction, are set to have a preset angle according to the film plating requirements, and the preset angle is in the range of 90°-270°, for example, the preset angle can be 120°, 150°, 180°, etc. The movement direction of the film material particles and the movement direction of the inert gas are basically in opposite directions, and the inert gas has kinetic energy less than that of the film material particles. The film material particles will collide with the inert gas during movement, thereby reducing the kinetic energy of the film material particles.

[0044] During the film plating process, a certain voltage is first applied to the sputtering cathode 1, and under the action of the electric field, the atoms on the surface of the target material 2 are ionized and form a plasma. The film material particles in these plasmas move towards the substrate 3 under the driving force of the electric field. At the same time, the inert gas (such as argon) in the collision particle source is transported to the energy adjustment plate 4 through the collision particle pipeline 5, and is sprayed out from the gas outlet port 51 and moves towards the target material 2. Since the inert gas has kinetic energy less than that of the film material particles, when the film material particles collide with the inert gas molecules, the film material particles will partially transfer kinetic energy to the inert gas molecules, thereby reducing their own energy. The film material particles after energy adjustment continue to move towards the substrate 3 through the through holes 41 on the energy adjustment plate 4, and deposit on the surface of the substrate 3 to form a film plating layer.

[0045] The low-energy PVD coating device of the embodiment of the present application further comprises a cooling fluid pipe 6, which is used to be connected with a cooling source, the cooling source has cooling fluid inside, and the cooling fluid pipe 6 is connected with the energy adjusting plate 4.

[0046] In combination with the above embodiment, the cooling fluid pipe 6 is connected with the cooling source, the cooling source has cooling fluid, such as cooling gas or cooling water, stored inside. The cooling fluid pipe 6 is connected with the energy adjusting plate 4, the cooling water flowing through the cooling fluid pipe 6 exchanges heat with the energy adjusting plate 4, and then exchanges heat with the film material particles flowing through the energy adjusting plate 4, thereby reducing the kinetic energy of the film material particles.

[0047] The low-energy PVD coating device of the embodiment of the present application, the via hole 41 of the energy adjusting plate 4 is provided with a plurality of via holes and is provided at equal intervals along the width direction of the energy adjusting plate 4, the cross section of each via hole 41 along the width direction of the energy adjusting plate 4 is a trapezoidal shape, and the size of each via hole 41 towards one side of the substrate 3 is greater than the size of each via hole 41 towards the target material 2.

[0048] In combination with the above embodiment, the trapezoidal structure design of the via hole 41 makes the film material particles experience a more stable and controllable energy adjustment process when passing through the via hole 41 due to the gradual change of space. The larger opening on the substrate 3 side is conducive to the smoother deposition of particles with appropriate reduced energy to the substrate 3, reduces the uneven particle scattering and energy loss caused by the structure of the via hole 41, thereby improving the uniformity of the coating. At the same time, the probability of collision between inert gas and film material particles is increased, thereby reducing the kinetic energy of the film material particles.

[0049] The low-energy PVD coating device of the embodiment of the present application, the cooling fluid pipe 6 is provided with a plurality of cooling fluid pipes, and at least one cooling fluid pipe 6 is provided between each two via holes 41, and each cooling fluid pipe 6 is provided along the length direction of the energy adjusting plate 4.

[0050] In combination with the above embodiment, the plurality of cooling fluid pipes 6 are provided with a plurality of cooling fluid pipes, and each cooling fluid pipe 6 is provided along the length direction of the energy adjusting plate 4, which can sufficiently exchange heat with the film material particles, thereby sufficiently reducing the kinetic energy of the film material particles.

[0051] The low-energy PVD coating device of the embodiment of the present application, the length of the energy adjusting plate 4 away from the substrate 3 is less than the length of the energy adjusting plate 4 away from the target material 2, and the gas outlet port 51 of the collision particle pipe 5 is arranged on the side of the energy adjusting plate 4 facing the substrate 3.

[0052] In combination with the above embodiment, the length of the energy adjustment plate 4 from the substrate 3 is less than the length of the energy adjustment plate 4 from the target material 2, for example, the length of the energy adjustment plate 4 from the target material 2 is ten times the length of the energy adjustment plate 4 from the substrate 3. On the one hand, the inert gas output by the collision particle pipeline 5 can pass through the via 41 to the target material 2 along the smaller space between the substrate 3 and the energy adjustment plate 4, so as to realize collision with the film material particles. On the other hand, the time of collision between the inert gas and the film material particles is increased, and multiple collisions between the inert gas and the film material particles are realized.

[0053] The low-energy PVD film coating device of the embodiment of the present application further comprises a plurality of gas flow guide plates 7, the plurality of gas flow guide plates 7 are sequentially and adjacently arranged and connected to form a flow guide cavity with open ends, and the energy adjustment plate 4, the sputtering cathode 1 and the gas outlet port 51 of the collision particle pipeline 5 are located in the flow guide cavity. The gas flow guide plates 7 are arranged outside the space between the substrate 3 and the target material 2 to form a relatively closed space, and a relatively stable gas flow moving from the substrate 3 to the film coating source can be formed.

[0054] The low-energy PVD film coating device of the embodiment of the present application, the sputtering cathode 1 comprises a target body 11, a magnet pair 2 and a magnetic pole shoe 13, the magnet is arranged in the target body 11 and is used to be connected with the negative pole of an external power supply to generate an electric field, the target material 2 is arranged on the target body 11 and is located in the electric field, and the magnetic pole shoe 13 is arranged in the target body 11 and is connected with the magnet pair 2.

[0055] In combination with the above embodiment, the sputtering power supply applies a negative voltage of several hundred volts to the cathode, and an electric field is formed by the magnet pair 2 (three permanent magnets) and the grounded substrate 3. The inert gas (argon) will be ionized in this electric field and accelerated to collide with the target material 2 outside the cathode. When the energy reaches a certain threshold value, the target material 2 particles will be ejected and deposited on the substrate 3 to form a film. The cooling water arranged in the target body 11 plays a role in reducing the temperature of the magnet pair 2, and the sealing ring 14 between the target material 2 and the target body 11 plays a role in preventing the cooling water from leaking.

[0056] In summary, the energy adjusting plate 4 can be a strip-shaped grid or other shaped grid structure provided with a certain chamfer angle. By adjusting the ratio of the grid gap area to the total area and the chamfer size of the grid, the number of incident film particles can be adjusted, which is equivalent to adjusting the deposition rate. The energy adjusting plate 4 is internally provided with a cooling fluid pipe 6 for temperature reduction and adjustment. Meanwhile, the energy adjusting plate 4 and the gas guide plate 7 form a relatively closed space channel. The vacuum system exhaust port is located outside the film deposition source and away from the substrate 3. Therefore, a relatively stable process gas flow path is formed from the working direction to the film deposition source. The low-energy film particles from the energy adjusting plate 4 position collide and exchange energy with the high-energy film particles from the film deposition source multiple times on the path, forming an energy distribution gradient from low to high in this region. The film particles deposited on the substrate 3 finally have an energy level close to that of the process gas particles just coming out of the energy adjusting plate 4 position. Therefore, very low-energy film particles are obtained, and stable low-energy deposition film is realized. At the same time, by adjusting the temperature and gas volume, the minimum energy and exchange degree of the process gas particles can be controlled, which is equivalent to realizing the adjustment of the minimum energy level of the film particles.

[0057] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described above, but the present application is not limited to the above. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A low energy PVD coating device, characterized in that, The sputtering cathode is used to generate an electric field and is loaded with a target material which is arranged opposite to a substrate to be coated, and the target material generates film particles moving in a first direction under the action of the electric field of the sputtering cathode, wherein the first direction is a direction towards the substrate. The energy adjustment plate is located between the substrate and the sputtering cathode and has through holes for the film particles to pass through. The collision particle pipeline is used to be connected with a collision particle source which has a preset inert gas inside, and the gas outlet port of the collision particle pipeline is arranged on the energy adjustment plate and transports the inert gas moving in a second direction, wherein the second direction is a direction towards the target material, the preset angle between the first direction and the second direction ranges from 90° to 270°, and the inert gas has kinetic energy smaller than that of the film particles. The coating device further comprises a cooling fluid pipeline which is used to be connected with a cooling source which has a cooling fluid inside, and the cooling fluid pipeline is connected with the energy adjustment plate.

2. The low energy PVD coater of claim 1, wherein, The through holes of the energy adjustment plate are arranged at equal intervals along the width direction of the energy adjustment plate, each of the through holes has a trapezoidal cross section along the width direction of the energy adjustment plate, and the size of each of the through holes on the side towards the substrate is greater than that on the side towards the target material.

3. The low energy PVD coater of claim 2, wherein, The cooling fluid pipeline is arranged at multiple positions, and at least one cooling fluid pipeline is arranged between every two through holes, and each of the cooling fluid pipelines extends along the length direction of the energy adjustment plate.

4. The low energy PVD coater of claim 3, wherein, The length of the energy adjustment plate from the substrate is smaller than the length of the energy adjustment plate from the target material.

5. The low energy PVD coater of claim 1, wherein, The gas outlet port of the collision particle pipeline is arranged on the side of the energy adjustment plate towards the substrate.

6. The low energy PVD coater of claim 1, wherein, The coating device further comprises a plurality of gas flow guide plates which are arranged in sequence and connected to form a flow guide cavity with open ends, and the energy adjustment plate, the sputtering cathode and the gas outlet port of the collision particle pipeline are located in the flow guide cavity.

7. The low energy PVD coater of claim 1, wherein, The sputtering cathode comprises a target body and a pair of magnets, the magnets are arranged in the target body and used to be connected with a negative electrode of an external power source to generate an electric field, and the target material is arranged on the target body and located in the electric field.

8. The low-energy PVD coating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The sputtering cathode further comprises a magnetic pole shoe which is arranged in the target body and connected with the pair of magnets.

9. The low energy PVD coater of claim 8, wherein, ​

Images