Vapor deposition device

Abstract

To improve a vapor deposition speed while increasing the number of substrates mounted to a substrate holder, achieve higher productivity, and achieve film deposition treatment at a high film deposition speed while securing uniformity of film thickness.SOLUTION: A vapor deposition device has: a vacuum chamber 2, inside of which can be reduced to predetermined pressure; one circular substrate holder 7 rotatably provided in the vacuum chamber; plural substrates 6 held on a lower face of the substrate holder; and plural vacuum vapor deposition sources 4, 5 emitting vapor of a vapor deposition material. The substrate holder holds the plural substrates so that film formation faces of the substrates are faced to a direction for emitting the vapor of the vapor deposition material of the vacuum vapor deposition source. The substrate holder is constituted to hold the substrates so that a distance and an angle from the vacuum vapor deposition sources of the plural substrates become optimum for each of the vacuum vapor deposition sources.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a deposition apparatus for depositing a deposition material from a vacuum deposition source onto a substrate placed on a substrate holder. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Vapor deposition apparatuses that deposit a vapor deposition material onto a substrate to form a predetermined film on the substrate are known, and a planetary rotor mechanism has been proposed as a method for depositing a functional multilayer film on a three-dimensional substrate. There was a demand for such deposition equipment to be able to mount an increased number of substrates per lot.

[0003] As such a deposition apparatus, a device has been proposed in which a substrate holder (planetary rotor) is provided in a vacuum chamber, which is rotated on its orbit by a rotating means such as a planetary gear or a transmission belt, multiple substrates are placed on the substrate holder, and deposition materials heated and vaporized by a vacuum deposition source are deposited on the substrates to form films while the substrate holder is rotated and revolved (for example, see References 1 and 2).

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-110260 A [Patent Document 2] WO2022 / 040240 publication DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In such conventional deposition apparatus, there has been a demand to increase the number of substrates mounted per lot in order to improve the operating efficiency and productivity. Possible measures to meet this demand include increasing the size of the substrate holder on which the substrate is placed, or increasing the number of substrate holders. However, increasing the size of the substrate holder or increasing the number of substrate holders gives rise to the following technical problems. If the size of the substrate holder is increased, the distance between the substrate holder and the evaporation source must be increased to ensure uniformity in the film thickness, which reduces the deposition rate and requires a taller and larger chamber. When the size of the substrate holder is increased, the weight of the substrate holder also increases, causing the bearings of the rotating part and the drive part of the substrate holder to wear out rapidly and become more susceptible to failure. Increasing the number of substrate holders makes the rotation mechanism for the substrate holders more complicated and more prone to failure. If the size and weight of the substrate holder are increased, there is a risk that wear particles generated in the drive unit of the substrate holder will be mixed into the film. If the size of the substrate holder is increased, the source atoms will be obliquely incident at a large angle, which will lead to the formation of a film that is easily shaded, resulting in an island structure rather than a uniform film thickness. This will cause tensile stress when adjacent islands join together, making it difficult to create a film with compressive stress.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has an object to provide a deposition apparatus that can increase the deposition rate while increasing the number of substrates that can be mounted on a substrate holder, thereby achieving higher productivity. Another object of the present invention is to provide a deposition apparatus capable of achieving a film formation process with a high film formation rate while ensuring uniformity in film thickness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the deposition apparatus of the present invention comprises a vacuum chamber whose interior can be depressurized to a predetermined pressure, a circular substrate holder rotatably arranged within the vacuum chamber, a plurality of substrates held on the underside of the substrate holder, and a plurality of vacuum deposition sources which spray vapor of deposition material, wherein the substrate holder is adapted to hold the plurality of substrates so that a film formation surface of the substrate faces in the direction in which the vacuum deposition source sprays vapor of the deposition material, and the substrate holder holds the substrates so that the distance and angle of the plurality of substrates from the vacuum deposition source are optimal for each of the vacuum deposition sources.

[0008] Another feature of the present invention is that an evaporation apparatus includes a vacuum chamber whose interior can be decompressed to a predetermined pressure, a circular substrate holder that is rotatably installed within the vacuum chamber via a holder support part and that is rotated by a drive motor during a film formation process, a plurality of substrates held on an underside of the substrate holder, and a plurality of vacuum evaporation sources that eject vapor of an evaporation material, the substrate holder having a concave underside facing each of the vacuum evaporation sources, the plurality of substrates being arranged and installed on the underside, the substrate holder is provided with a plurality of independent substrate mounting parts on which each of the plurality of substrates can be individually mounted, and the substrates are held on the substrate mounting parts so that the distances and angles of the plurality of substrates from the vacuum evaporation source are optimized for each of the vacuum evaporation sources, taking into account the flight distribution of the vapor of the evaporation material. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, by shortening the distance between the substrate holder and the evaporation source, it is possible to increase the number of substrates mounted on the substrate holder while increasing the deposition rate, thereby achieving higher productivity. Furthermore, according to the present invention, a film formation process with a high film formation rate can be achieved while ensuring uniformity in film thickness. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a vapor deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line II' of FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the deposition apparatus shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a front view of the deposition apparatus shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' of the deposition apparatus shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a top view of the substrate holder shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line III-III' of the substrate holder shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the substrate holder shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing how a plurality of substrates are arranged with respect to the first vacuum evaporation source so as to be each at an optimal position and angle. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of a plurality of vacuum evaporation sources. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the M-shaped cross-sectional shape of the substrate holder 7. As shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a deposition apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a vapor deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line II' in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a top view of the vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a front view of the vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 3 taken along line II-II'.

[0013] 1 to 4, in the deposition apparatus 1 of this embodiment, for example, an exhaust pipe and a vacuum pump (not shown) are connected to a vacuum chamber 2, which is a film formation chamber, so that the inside can be depressurized to a predetermined pressure. The back pressure in the vacuum chamber 2 during film formation by vacuum deposition is, for example, about 10-2 to 10-5 Pa.

[0014] A first vacuum evaporation source 4 and a second vacuum evaporation source 5 are disposed at the lower inside of the vacuum chamber 2 as a film forming material supply unit 3. A first evaporation material is accommodated inside the first vacuum evaporation source 4, and a second evaporation material is accommodated inside the second vacuum evaporation source 5. Various materials can be used as the deposition material. Each of the vacuum evaporation sources 4 and 5 is provided with a heating means such as resistance heating, electron beam heating, laser beam heating, or an electron gun (not shown). When the evaporation material is heated and vaporized in the vacuum evaporation source, the vapor of the evaporation material is ejected. In this embodiment, two vacuum evaporation sources are provided as multiple evaporation sources. However, as described below, the number of vacuum evaporation sources is not limited, and various embodiments are possible, such as providing three vacuum evaporation sources (see FIG. 9).

[0015] Next, within the vacuum chamber 2, a substrate holder 7 is provided to hold a substrate 6, which is an optical substrate and is a film-forming target, with the film-forming surface facing the film-forming material supply section 3 in the direction in which the vapor of the deposition material from the first vacuum evaporation source 4 and the second vacuum deposition source 5 is sprayed (dotted arrow in Figure 1). In FIG. 1, the directions in which the vapor of the deposition material from the first vacuum evaporation source 4 and the second vacuum deposition source 5 is ejected are indicated by dotted arrows. In addition, in FIG. 1, only a part of the substrate 6 is illustrated in a simplified manner (for details, see FIG. 4 and FIG. 6).

[0016] The substrate holder 7 is rotatably supported from above by a holder support part 8 within the vacuum chamber 2, and is rotated in the direction of arrow A by a drive motor 9 provided at the top of the vacuum chamber 2 during film formation processing. That is, the holder support part 8 is attached to the lower part 10a of a rotating shaft 10 which extends downward within the vacuum chamber 2 from a drive motor 9 which is provided protruding from the upper part of the vacuum chamber 2, and a substrate holder 7 which holds the substrate 6 so that the film formation surface faces the film forming material supply part 3 is provided on the lower surface 8a of the holder support part 8. The configuration of the holder support portion 8 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be of any shape as long as it rotatably supports the substrate holder 7, which will be described in detail below.

[0017] Next, the substrate holder 7 attached to the lower surface 8a of the holder support portion 8 will be described. A feature of the present invention is that the substrate holder 7 holds the multiple substrates 6 so that the film formation surface of the substrate 6 faces the direction in which the vapor of the deposition material is sprayed from the multiple vacuum deposition sources 4, 5, and that the substrate holder 7 holds the substrates 6 so that the distances and angles of the multiple substrates 6 from the vacuum deposition sources 4, 5 are optimal for each of the vacuum deposition sources 4, 5, taking into account the flight distribution of the vapor of the deposition material. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described below, the substrate holder 7 is formed into a circle on a plane, and the undersides 7a on both sides of the center point 7x of the circle, i.e., the undersides 7a facing the first vacuum evaporation source 4 and the second vacuum evaporation source 5, respectively, are made concave in cross section, and multiple substrates 6 are arranged and placed on the undersides 7a. As a result, the cross-sectional shape of the substrate holder 7 forms a gentle M-shape, as shown in FIG.

[0018] That is, in the cross-sectional view shown in Figure 1, the lower surface 7a1 facing the first vacuum evaporation source 4 on the left side of the circular center point 7x of the substrate holder 7 is formed concavely, and the lower surface 7a2 facing the second vacuum evaporation source 5 on the right side of the circular center point 7x of the substrate holder 7 is formed concavely. Naturally, since the substrate holder 7 is rotated together with the holder support part 8 during film formation, the substrate holder 7 has the same cross-sectional shape over the entire circumference. That is, any cross-sectional shape passing through the center point 7x of the substrate holder 7 has the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 6.

[0019] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the first vacuum evaporation source 4 is provided directly below the concave lower surface 7a1 of the substrate holder 7, that is, on a dotted line extending downward from the center point 7a3 of the concave lower surface 7a1. Similarly, a second vacuum evaporation source 5 is provided directly below the concave lower surface 7a2 of the substrate holder 7, that is, on a dotted line extending downward from a center point 7a4 of the concave lower surface 7a2. In this embodiment, the substrate holder 7 is formed in a so-called ring doughnut shape, which is a circle with a round center cut out to form a torus. With this configuration, the substrate 6 held by the substrate holder 7 continuously receives vaporized deposition material from multiple (in this case, two) vacuum evaporation sources 4, 5, so that the distance between the substrate holder 7 and the film forming material supply section 3 can be shortened, thereby making it possible to increase the number of substrates that can be mounted on the substrate holder 7 while increasing the deposition rate and achieving higher productivity.

[0020] Next, the substrate holder 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Figure 5 is a top view of the substrate holder 7 shown in Figure 1, Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the substrate holder 7 shown in Figure 5 from line III-III', and Figure 7 is a bottom view of the substrate holder 7 shown in Figure 4. First, the substrate holder 7 is attached to the lower surface 8a of the holder support portion 8, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, when viewed from above, the substrate holder 7 has a ring-donut shape with a center point 7x as the center and a round hole cut out in the middle to form a torus, and has an outer circular portion 7c and an inner circular portion 7d.

[0021] In this embodiment, as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of Figure 6, the cross section of the substrate holder 7 has a concave lower surface 7a1 facing the first vacuum evaporation source 4 on the left side of the circular center point 7x of the substrate holder 7, and a concave lower surface 7a2 facing the second vacuum evaporation source 5 on the right side of the center point 7x. As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of Figure 6, in this embodiment, the lower surfaces 7a1 and 7a2 of the substrate holder 7 each have an arc-shaped concave shape, and in order to form the lower surfaces 7a1 and 7a2, a plurality of independent substrate mounting portions 7e are provided for mounting each of the plurality of substrates 6. That is, as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of Figure 6, in this embodiment, the substrate holder 7 is provided with a plurality of independent substrate mounting portions 7e on which each of the plurality of substrates 6 is individually mounted, and each substrate mounting portion 7e has a different height and a different inclination of its lower surface. As a result, the lower surfaces 7a1 and 7a2 are each formed into an arcuate concave shape taking into account the flight distribution of the vaporized deposition material, so that the distances and angles of the multiple substrates 6 from the vacuum deposition sources 4 and 5 are optimized. In this way, by providing a plurality of independent substrate mounting portions 7e, the position and angle of the substrate 6 can be set individually. In this embodiment, a plurality of independent substrate placement sections 7e are provided so that each of the plurality of substrates 6 can be placed individually, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of ring-shaped substrate placement sections may be provided, and the substrates 6 may be arranged in a row on the ring-shaped substrate placement sections. In this case, the substrates 6 in the row will all have the same position and angle. Moreover, all of the plurality of substrate mounting portions 7e may be connected to form one curved surface, and the substrates 6 may be arranged side by side on the curved surface.

[0022] As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of Figure 6, the underside 7a of the substrate holder 7 is formed concavely so that the multiple substrates 6 can each be positioned at an optimal angle relative to the vacuum evaporation source. For this reason, each substrate mounting portion 7e is formed with a different height and a different inclination of the underside. In this embodiment, assuming that the above-mentioned optimal position and angle will be adjusted, as shown in FIG. 6, a first vacuum evaporation source 4 is provided directly below the concave lower surface 7a1 of the substrate holder 7, i.e., on a dotted line extending downward from the center point 7a3 of the concave lower surface 7a1, and similarly, a second vacuum evaporation source 5 is provided directly below the concave lower surface 7a2 of the substrate holder 7, i.e., on a dotted line extending downward from the center point 7a4 of the concave lower surface 7a2. As an example of how the above-mentioned multiple substrates 6 are each positioned at an optimal angle relative to the vacuum evaporation source, in this embodiment, in the cross section shown in Figure 6, each substrate mounting portion 7e is formed with a different height and a different inclination of the lower surface so that the distance and angle from each of the first vacuum evaporation source 4 and the second vacuum deposition source 5 to each substrate 6 are the same.

[0023] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing how a plurality of substrates 6 are arranged relative to the first vacuum evaporation source 4 so as to be each at an optimal position and angle. In this embodiment, the substrate 6 comprises a convex lens 6 . In order for a predetermined thin film with a uniform thickness to be formed on the surface of each abutting lens 6, it is necessary to take an optimal distance and angle from the first vacuum evaporation source 4 according to the arrangement position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, each substrate mounting portion 7e is designed to have a different height and a different inclination of its lower surface so that the distance and angle from the first vacuum evaporation source 4 of each abutment lens 6 placed on its lower surface is optimized. The height and the inclination of the lower surface of each substrate mounting portion 7e are designed to differ depending on parameters such as the rotation speed of the substrate holder 7.

[0024] As described above, according to this embodiment, the substrate holder 7 is formed in a circular shape on a plane, and the undersides 7a on both sides of the center point 7x of the circle, i.e., the undersides 7a1, 7a2 facing the first vacuum evaporation source 4 and the second vacuum evaporation source 5, respectively, are concave to form a gentle M-shape, and multiple substrates 6 are arranged and placed on the undersides 7a1, 7a2 so that the multiple substrates are each positioned and angled optimally relative to the vacuum evaporation sources 4, 5. This makes it possible to dramatically shorten the distance between the substrate holder 7 and the vacuum evaporation sources 4, 5. As a result, the following effects can be obtained: The deposition rate can be increased while increasing the number of substrates mounted on the substrate holder, thereby achieving higher productivity. It is possible to achieve a film formation process with a high film formation rate while ensuring uniformity in film thickness. The amount of wear powder generated in the drive section of the substrate holder can be significantly reduced, and the stability of the drive section can be maintained. The height of the vacuum chamber can be designed to be low. The distance and angle of each substrate 6 from the vacuum evaporation sources 4, 5 are optimized, so that a film with excellent compressive stress can be formed.

[0025] Although the present embodiment has been described, the description and drawings forming a part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting. Various embodiments not described here are included. For example, in this embodiment, a configuration in which two vacuum evaporation sources are provided as shown in Figures 1 and 9(a) has been described, but this is not limited to this, and three vacuum evaporation sources may be provided as shown in Figure 9(b), or four vacuum evaporation sources may be provided as shown in Figure 9(c). Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of multiple vacuum evaporation sources when viewed from below the substrate holder 7, including the vacuum evaporation sources, where Figure 9(a) shows a configuration in which two vacuum evaporation sources are provided, Figure 9(b) shows a configuration in which three vacuum evaporation sources are provided, and Figure 9(c) shows a configuration in which four vacuum evaporation sources are provided. In this way, if the number of vacuum deposition sources is increased, the deposition rate can be increased and the productivity can be improved, although the cost increases accordingly.

[0026] In addition, in this embodiment, the substrate holder 7 has an M-shaped cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 10(a), but is not limited to this and may be configured to have an M-shaped cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 10(b). That is, in the above-described embodiment, the substrate holder 7 has a ring donut shape with a circle cut out in the middle to form a torus, and its cross-sectional shape is as shown in Figure 10(a). However, it is not necessary to cut out the middle of the circle, and it may have a circular M-shaped cross-sectional shape as shown in Figure 10(b). In the case of the substrate holder 7 shown in FIG. 10(b), the holder 7 is circular with the center not cut out. In this embodiment, a plurality of independent substrate placement sections 7e are provided so that each of the plurality of substrates 6 can be placed individually, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of ring-shaped substrate placement sections may be provided, and the substrates 6 may be arranged in a row on the ring-shaped substrate placement sections. In this case, the substrates 6 in the row will all have the same position and angle. Moreover, all of the plurality of substrate mounting portions 7e may be connected to form one curved surface, and the substrates 6 may be arranged side by side on the curved surface. Also, for example, an ion source for irradiating the substrate on which a film is to be formed with ions such as oxygen ions may be provided in the vacuum chamber 2, and ion beam assisted vacuum deposition may be performed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1 Vacuum deposition apparatus, 2 Vacuum chamber, 4 First vacuum deposition source, Reference Signs List 5: second vacuum deposition source, 6: substrate, 7: substrate holder, 8: holder support portion, 9: drive motor, 10: rotation shaft

Claims

1. a vacuum chamber whose interior can be decompressed to a predetermined pressure; a circular substrate holder rotatably disposed within the vacuum chamber; a plurality of substrates held on a lower surface of the substrate holder; A plurality of vacuum deposition sources for ejecting vapor of a deposition material; the substrate holder is configured to hold the plurality of substrates such that a film formation surface of the substrate faces a direction in which vapor of a deposition material of the vacuum deposition source is ejected, The deposition apparatus, wherein the substrate holder holds the substrates such that the distances and angles of the substrates from the vacuum deposition sources are optimal for each of the vacuum deposition sources.

2. 2 . The deposition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate holder has a concave lower surface facing each of the vacuum deposition sources, and the plurality of substrates are arranged and placed on the concave lower surface.

3. The deposition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate holder is rotationally driven by a drive motor during a film formation process.

4. 2. The deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deposition apparatus has a holder support part for holding the substrate holder, the holder support part being attached to a lower part of a rotation shaft extending downwardly into the vacuum chamber from a drive motor provided to protrude from an upper part of the vacuum chamber, and the substrate holder for holding the substrate is provided on a lower surface of the holder support part such that a film formation surface of the substrate faces the vacuum deposition source side.

5. The deposition apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate holder is ring-donut shaped.

6. 6. The deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holder is provided with a plurality of independent substrate mounting portions on which the plurality of substrates are individually mounted, and each of the substrate mounting portions has a different height and a different inclination of its lower surface so that the distances and angles from the vacuum deposition source of the plurality of substrates are optimized.

7. The vacuum evaporation source includes a first vacuum evaporation source and a second vacuum evaporation source, 7. The deposition apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the substrate mounting portion is formed with different heights and different inclinations of its lower surface so that the distances and angles from the first vacuum evaporation source and the second vacuum evaporation source to each of the substrates are the same on a cross section, taking into account the flight distribution of vapor of the deposition material.

8. 8. The deposition apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cross section of the substrate holder has a gentle M-shape in which the lower surfaces facing the first vacuum evaporation sources and the second vacuum deposition source are each formed concave.

9. a vacuum chamber whose interior can be decompressed to a predetermined pressure; a circular substrate holder that is rotatably provided in the vacuum chamber via a holder support portion and that is rotated by a drive motor during a film deposition process; a plurality of substrates held on a lower surface of the substrate holder; A plurality of vacuum deposition sources for ejecting vapor of a deposition material; the substrate holder has a concave lower surface facing each of the vacuum deposition sources, and the substrates are arranged and placed on the concave lower surface; The substrate holder is provided with a plurality of independent substrate mounting portions so that each of the plurality of substrates can be individually mounted thereon, and the substrates are held on the substrate mounting portions so that the distances and angles of the plurality of substrates from the vacuum deposition source are optimized with respect to each of the vacuum deposition sources, taking into account the flight distribution of the vapor of the deposition material.

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