Vacuum deposition machine and commissioning method

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention are a vacuum deposition machine and a commissioning method. The vacuum deposition machine comprises: a deposition chamber, a plasma generation assembly, at least two sets of optical detection probes, a spectrometer and a controller. The deposition chamber is provided with a position to be deposited and a deposition conveyor line along a first direction, the deposition conveyor line passing through the position to be deposited, so as to convey a substrate through the position to be deposited, and deposit onto a surface of the substrate. The plasma generation assembly is in communication with the deposition chamber, and is provided with a plasma flow channel along a second direction toward the position to be deposited, the plasma flow channel forming a deposition area at the position to be deposited along a third direction. The at least two sets of optical detection probes are distributed at intervals along the third direction, and the optical detection probes are used to detect mixed glow emitted by plasma in the plasma flow channel. The spectrometer is optically connected to the optical detection probes, and is used to obtain spectral data based on the mixed glow. The controller is electrically connected to the spectrometer, and is used to receive and process the spectral data, and obtain a composition ratio of the plasma.

Description

Vacuum coating machine and debugging method TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of plasma coating equipment, in particular to a vacuum coating machine and a debugging method. BACKGROUND

[0002] The principle of the RPD vacuum coating equipment (reactive plasma deposition) is to use magnetic control technology to gather plasma beam on the surface of the solid target ingot in the furnace center. The sublimated target particles in the plasma area are highly dissociated, and then most of the plasma is deposited on the surface of the substrate to form a thin film. The current coated thin film is mostly transparent conductive material (TCO), and the requirements for the deposited thin film are high transmittance, low sheet resistance and high carrier mobility. The goal is to maintain the uniformity of various thin film indicators when coating a large area.

[0003] The RPD vacuum coating equipment has a long target lining distance, and the reaction gas spreads from the gas distribution pipe to the entire coating chamber for reaction. Since the ionized gas is affected by the magnetic field, the various reaction plasma gases projected onto the substrate have different concentration distributions, resulting in differences in the surface resistance, transmittance and mobility of the deposited thin film. It is difficult to compensate for the uniformity of the coating width in time through process or hardware adjustment. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application proposes two kinds of vacuum coating machines, which can detect the plasma distribution of the coating surface in real time and improve the adjustment efficiency.

[0005] The present application also proposes a debugging method using the above-mentioned vacuum coating machine.

[0006] The present application also proposes an RPD vacuum coating equipment with the above-mentioned vacuum coating machine.

[0007] The vacuum coating machine according to the first aspect of the present application comprises:

[0008] A coating chamber is provided with a to-be-coated position and a coating conveying line along a first direction, the coating conveying line passes through the to-be-coated position to convey the substrate through the to-be-coated position and coat the surface of the substrate;

[0009] A plasma generating assembly is connected to the coating chamber and provided with a plasma flow channel facing the to-be-coated position along a second direction, the plasma flow channel forms a coating area along a third direction at the to-be-coated position, and the first direction, the second direction and the third direction intersect with each other;

[0010] at least two groups of light detection probes are distributed along the third direction, different light detection probes are directed to different positions of the plasma flow channel along the third direction, and the light detection probes are used for detecting mixed glow emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel;

[0011] a spectrometer is optically connected to the light detection probes and used for obtaining spectral data according to the mixed glow;

[0012] a controller is electrically connected to the spectrometer and used for receiving and processing the spectral data emitted by the spectrometer to obtain plasma composition proportions of different positions of the plasma flow channel along the third direction.

[0013] The vacuum coating machine according to the first aspect of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects: the light detection probes are directed to the plasma flow channel and directly detect the glow emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel, the glow is transmitted to the spectrometer, the spectrometer analyzes to obtain spectral data of different plasmas, the controller processes to obtain plasma composition proportions of different plasmas, two or more groups of light detection probes detect different positions of the plasma flow channel along the third direction, plasma composition proportions of different positions of the plasma flow channel along the third direction and plasma distribution conditions of different positions of the coating area along the third direction are obtained, real-time monitoring of the plasma distribution condition is realized, during debugging of the vacuum coating machine, parameters can be adjusted according to the plasma distribution condition, so that the uniformity of the plasma distribution is higher, and after the parameters are adjusted, the plasma distribution condition after adjustment can be directly understood, when the plasma distribution does not meet the preset requirement, the plasma distribution can be directly adjusted until the plasma distribution is uniform, and the adjustment efficiency and the adjustment accuracy are improved.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present application, the plasma generation assembly comprises a generation chamber in communication with the coating chamber, and part of the plasma flow channel is located in the generation chamber, and the light detection probes are arranged in the generation chamber.

[0015] Or,

[0016] The light detection probes are arranged in the coating chamber and located between the to-be-coated position and the side of the coating chamber in communication with the plasma generation assembly.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present application, the plasma flow channel comprises a sublimation zone and a deposition zone along the second direction, and the light detection probes are directed to the deposition zone.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present application, the plasma flow channel comprises a sublimation zone, a dissociation zone and a deposition zone along the second direction, and the light detection probes are directed to the dissociation zone and / or the deposition zone.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the application, at least two groups of the light detection probes are also distributed along the second direction.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the application, the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0021] According to some embodiments of the application, the light detection probes are vertically oriented to the plasma flow channel.

[0022] According to some embodiments of the application, the light detection probes include an incident probe and a receiving probe opposite to the incident probe, the plasma flow channel is between the incident probe and the receiving probe, and the receiving probe is optically connected to the optical spectrometer.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the application, the light detection probes include a reflection probe for receiving reflected light.

[0024] According to some embodiments of the application, the light detection probes further include a light absorber opposite to the reflection probe or a mirror opposite to the reflection probe.

[0025] According to some embodiments of the application, the controller is further configured to control the plasma generation assembly to make the plasma composition ratio in the plasma flow channel within a preset range when the detected plasma composition ratio is outside the preset range.

[0026] According to some embodiments of the application, the plasma generation assembly includes a main power supply, a plasma generation source, a beam guide, a thickness compensation plate, a gas source and a generation chamber.

[0027] The controller controls the plasma generation assembly to make the plasma composition ratio in the plasma flow channel within a preset range, including performing at least one of the following controls:

[0028] Controlling the current of the main power supply;

[0029] Controlling the current of the beam expansion electromagnet coil of the plasma generation source;

[0030] Controlling the current of the deflection electromagnet coil of the plasma generation source;

[0031] Controlling the argon flux of the plasma generation source;

[0032] Controlling the position of the beam guide;

[0033] Controlling the current of the electromagnet coil of the beam guide;

[0034] controlling a position of the thickness compensation plate;

[0035] controlling a proportion of a ventilation component of the gas source;

[0036] controlling a total pressure of the gas source;

[0037] controlling a ventilation position of the gas source;

[0038] controlling a cavity wall temperature of the generation chamber.

[0039] The vacuum coating machine according to the second aspect of the present application comprises:

[0040] a coating chamber, configured to coat a substrate in a coating position;

[0041] a plasma generation assembly, connected to the coating chamber, and configured to generate a plasma flow channel along a second direction towards the coating position;

[0042] at least two groups of light detection probes, spaced along a fourth direction, and configured to detect mixed light emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel;

[0043] a spectrometer, optically connected to the light detection probes, and configured to decompose the mixed light into spectral data;

[0044] a controller, electrically connected to the spectrometer, and configured to receive and process the spectral data to obtain a proportion of the plasma in different positions along the fourth direction of the plasma flow channel.

[0045] The vacuum coating machine according to the second aspect of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects: the light detection probes are arranged towards the plasma flow channel to directly detect the light emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel, and the light is transmitted to the spectrometer, the spectrometer analyzes the spectral data of different plasmas, and the controller processes the spectral data to obtain the proportion of the plasma in different positions along the fourth direction of the plasma flow channel, and the proportion of the plasma in different positions along the fourth direction of the coating area, so that the real-time monitoring of the distribution of the plasma is realized, the parameters can be adjusted according to the distribution of the plasma during the debugging of the vacuum coating machine, the uniformity of the distribution of the plasma is higher, and after the parameters are adjusted, the distribution of the plasma after the adjustment can be directly understood, and when the distribution of the plasma does not meet the preset requirements, the distribution of the plasma can be directly adjusted until the distribution of the plasma is uniform, so that the adjustment efficiency and the adjustment accuracy are improved.

[0046] According to the debugging method of the third aspect of the present application, the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect of the present application or the second aspect of the present application is used, and the specific steps include:

[0047] S1: starting the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect of the present application;

[0048] S2: different light detection probes detect the glow at different positions in the plasma flow channel along the third direction, and the spectrometer receives the mixed glow detected by the light detection probes to detect the plasma composition ratio at different positions in the plasma flow channel;

[0049] S3: if the plasma composition ratios at different positions are different, the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine are adjusted, and S2 is repeated until the measured plasma composition ratio difference is less than or equal to the preset concentration difference;

[0050] Or,

[0051] S1: starting the vacuum coating machine of the second aspect of the present application;

[0052] S2: different light detection probes detect the glow at different positions in the plasma flow channel along the fourth direction, and the spectrometer receives the mixed glow detected by the light detection probes to detect the plasma composition ratio at different positions in the plasma flow channel;

[0053] S3: if the plasma composition ratios at different positions are different, the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine are adjusted, and S2 is repeated until the measured plasma composition ratio difference is less than or equal to the preset concentration difference.

[0054] According to the debugging method of the third aspect of the present application, at least the following beneficial effects are achieved: the light detection probe, the spectrometer and the controller can directly know the plasma distribution of the plasma flow channel along the third direction or the fourth direction, according to the plasma distribution, the vacuum coating machine can be directly adjusted, and the plasma distribution after adjustment can be fed back in real time, and the plasma distribution after adjustment can be adjusted again to improve the adjustment efficiency and the adjustment precision.

[0055] According to some embodiments of the present application, in S3, the equipment debugging parameters of the vacuum coating machine include at least one of the following parameters:

[0056] The conveying speed of the coating conveying line;

[0057] The potential of the carrier plate carrying the substrate on the coating conveying line;

[0058] The current of the main power supply;

[0059] An amount of current of an expansion magnet coil of the plasma generating source;

[0060] An amount of current of a deflection magnet coil of the plasma generating source;

[0061] An argon flux of the plasma generating source;

[0062] A position of the beam guide;

[0063] An amount of current of a magnet coil of the beam guide;

[0064] A position of the thickness compensation plate;

[0065] A shape of the thickness compensation plate;

[0066] A proportion of a gas source;

[0067] A total pressure of the gas source;

[0068] A position of the gas source;

[0069] A cavity wall temperature of the generating chamber.

[0070] The RPD vacuum coating equipment according to the fourth aspect of the present application comprises the vacuum coating machine according to the first aspect of the present application or the second aspect of the present application.

[0071] The RPD vacuum coating equipment according to the fourth aspect of the present application has at least the following beneficial effect: using the vacuum coating machine according to the first aspect of the present application or the second aspect of the present application, the adjustment efficiency and the adjustment precision of the RPD vacuum coating equipment are higher.

[0072] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be given in part in the following description, will become apparent in part from the following description, or will be learned by practice of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0073] The present application will be further described below in combination with the drawings and embodiments, wherein:

[0074] Fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a vacuum coating machine in an RPD equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Fig. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a vacuum coating machine in a magnetron sputtering coating equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] Fig. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a vacuum coating machine in an evaporation coating equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a vacuum coating machine in an RPD equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the detailed structure of a vacuum coating machine in an RPD device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0079] Reference numerals:

[0080] Coating chamber 100; coating position 110; substrate 120;

[0081] Plasma generating assembly 200; plasma flow channel 210; sublimation zone 211; deposition zone 212; dissociation zone 213; generating chamber 220; thickness compensation plate 221;

[0082] Light detection probe 300;

[0083] Spectrometer 400;

[0084] Target material 500; beam guide 510;

[0085] Plasma generating source 600; beam expanding electromagnet coil 610; deflection electromagnet coil 620. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0086] Embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein the same or like reference numerals and characters throughout the figures denote the same or like components or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below are exemplary and are intended to be illustrative of the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0087] In the description of the present application, it is to be understood that the orientation description, such as upper, lower, etc. orientation or position relationship is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element indicated must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be construed as a limitation of the present application.

[0088] In the description of the present application, several means one and more than one, and multiple means two and more than two. If there is a description of first, second, it is only for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of indicated technical features.

[0089] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise explicitly limited, the words such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be broadly understood, and the person skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above words in the present application in combination with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0090] In the multi-chamber RPD equipment, because there are multiple plasma flow channels 210 in the same plasma generating assembly 200, there is interference between two adjacent plasma flow channels 210, even if the film thickness of the substrate 120 after coating is uniform, there is also a problem of too high sheet resistance non-uniformity along the coating width direction, and the sheet resistance non-uniformity is caused by uneven distribution of different plasmas, so it is necessary to detect the plasma uniformity of the film layer. In the related art, the plasma uniformity detection method of the film layer is generally as follows: first, a sample is made, then the sheet resistance of the sample is detected, and then the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine are changed according to the detection result to adjust the thickness and uniformity of the film layer on the sample. This detection method must be tested after the finished product is made, and then the equipment is adjusted according to the test result, and then the finished product is re-made and detected to determine the debugging effect. This detection method has high cost and very low efficiency.

[0091] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, the first aspect embodiment of the present application provides a vacuum coating machine, comprising: a coating chamber 100, a plasma generating assembly 200, at least two groups of light detection probes 300, a spectrometer 400 and a controller, the coating chamber 100 is provided with a to-be-coated position 110 and a coating conveying line along a first direction, the coating conveying line passes through the to-be-coated position 110 to convey the substrate 120 through the to-be-coated position 110 and coat the surface of the substrate 120; the plasma generating assembly 200 is connected to the coating chamber 100 and is provided with a plasma flow channel 210 facing the to-be-coated position 110 along a second direction, the plasma flow channel 210 forms a coating area along a third direction at the to-be-coated position 110, the first direction, the second direction and the third direction intersect with each other; at least two groups of light detection probes 300 are distributed along the third direction at intervals, different light detection probes 300 face different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction, and the light detection probes 300 are used for detecting mixed light emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel 210; the spectrometer 400 is optically connected to the light detection probes 300 to decompose the mixed light and convert it into spectral data; the controller is electrically connected to the spectrometer 400 and is used for receiving and processing the spectral data emitted by the spectrometer 400 to obtain the proportion of the plasma composition at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction.

[0092] In the present embodiment, the coating chamber 100 is generally arranged above the plasma generating assembly 200, and the coating chamber 100 and the plasma generating assembly 200 are both vacuumized, the coating chamber 100 conveys the substrate 120 through the coating conveying line, in a vacuum environment, the plasma generating assembly 200 generates coating plasma and confines the coating plasma to form the plasma flow channel 210, and the plasma flow channel 210 moves upward along the second direction to coat the bottom surface of the substrate 120.

[0093] The vacuum coating machine further comprises a target material 500, the target material 500 generates plasma coating to the surface of the substrate 120, the target material 500 can be formed by heating and magnetic field control to form the plasma flow channel 210, or the target material 500 can be formed by the plasma flow generated by the plasma generating source 600 to form the plasma flow channel 210. For the convenience of understanding, the vacuum coating machine with the plasma generating source 600 and the target material 500 is taken as an example for example, and the example is described as follows: the plasma generating source 600 is arranged outside the plasma generating assembly 200 and is communicated with the plasma generating assembly 200, the target material 500 is arranged in the plasma generating assembly 200, the target material 500 in the plasma generating assembly 200 is arranged opposite and spaced apart from the to-be-coated position 110 of the coating chamber 100, the target material 500 is located below the to-be-coated position 110, and the plasma generating source 600 is arranged between the target material 500 and the to-be-coated position 110 and is arranged towards the plasma flow channel 210 between the target material 500 and the to-be-coated position 110, the electron beam emitted by the plasma generating source 600 impinges on the top surface of the target material 500 in a parabolic manner and impinges on the surface of the target material 500, the target material particles on the surface of the target material 500 escape along the second direction, and the plasma flow channel 210 towards the to-be-coated position 110 is formed. Wherein, the plasma generating source 600 can control the parabolic shape of the electron beam by magnetic field, so that the electron beam can vertically impinge on the surface of the target material 500. The plasma flow channel 210 formed after the target material 500 is impinged can also be controlled by magnetic field, so that the plasma flow channel 210 spirally rises along the second direction, and the second direction refers to the axial direction of the spiral rising direction of the plasma flow channel 210.

[0094] Wherein, the top of the plasma flow channel 210 along the second direction is formed as an arc surface, the arc surface is tangent to the bottom surface of the substrate 120, and a strip-shaped coating area is formed, in the moving process of the substrate 120 along the first direction, the coating area passes through all surfaces of the substrate 120 to form a film layer, and the coating of the substrate 120 is completed. For the convenience of understanding, the coating area can be understood as a line, in the moving process of the substrate 120, the linear coating area passes through the bottom surface of the substrate 120 along the first direction, and forms a film layer on the bottom surface of the substrate 120, and in the actual ideal case, the coating area seen by the bottom surface of the substrate 120 is in strip shape. The third direction is the length direction of the coating area, and because the length of the coating area forms a plane along the first direction, the third direction is also called the coating width direction.

[0095] The at least two groups of light detection probes 300 are arranged in sequence and at intervals along the third direction, and the light detection probes 300 are directed to different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction, that is, the light detection probes 300 detect different positions of the film deposition area along the third direction, and the light detection probes 300 detect mixed light emitted by different plasmas, and the mixed light includes emission light of argon, oxygen, hydrogen, indium or tin. The spectrometer 400 receives the mixed light detected by the light detection probes 300, decomposes the mixed light into individual light, and then obtains spectral data according to the wavelengths of different light. After the controller processes the spectral data, the spectral data is displayed in the form of a chart, so that the user can intuitively understand the content of various plasmas detected by the light detection probes 300, and the plurality of different light detection probes 300 can know the distribution of various plasmas in the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction, and further know the composition distribution of various plasmas when reaching the surface of the substrate 120, thereby facilitating the analysis of the uniformity of the film layer on the film deposition area.

[0096] After knowing the uniformity of the film deposition area, the user can know the content numerical value of various plasmas in the detection area by analyzing the data. When the content of a certain plasma is low, the content of the plasma at different positions is adjusted by adjusting the equipment parameters of the vacuum film deposition machine to meet the preset requirements. It should be noted that the distribution of the plasma in the vacuum film deposition machine is affected by many factors, such as the amount of gas introduced, the amount of plasma generated by the plasma generation source 600, the angle of the electron beam of the plasma generation source 600 impinging on the target material 500, the magnetic field distribution of the plasma generation source 600, the magnetic field distribution of the target material 500, the temperature of the target material 500, the temperature in the plasma generation assembly 200, etc. When one or more parameters change, the distribution of various plasmas in the plasma flow channel 210 formed by the target material 500 will change, and there is also a correlation between different parameters. When a certain parameter changes, other parameters also need to be adjusted in association. Therefore, the debugging of the vacuum film deposition machine is more suitable for the exhaustion method to obtain the best use parameter range. The best adjustment parameter range of two vacuum film deposition machines of the same type may not be the same, and each vacuum film deposition machine needs to be debugged according to the actual use. Therefore, the present application can know the influence of the adjusted parameters on the distribution of various plasmas in real time after the parameters of the vacuum film deposition machine are adjusted, which facilitates subsequent adjustment, improves the parameter adjustment efficiency and accuracy of the vacuum film deposition machine, and can produce a film layer with higher uniformity on the surface of the substrate 120.

[0097] In general, the application sets the light detection probe 300 towards the plasma flow channel 210, directly detects the light emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel 210, transmits the light to the spectrometer 400, the spectrometer 400 analyzes the spectral data of different plasmas, and then processes the spectral lines of different plasmas through the controller, analyzes the plasma composition ratio of various plasmas according to the intensity contrast of the spectral lines, and detects the different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction through two or more light detection probes 300 to obtain the composition ratio of various plasmas at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction and the distribution of various plasmas at different positions of the coating area along the third direction, thereby realizing real-time monitoring of the distribution of various plasmas. During the debugging of the vacuum coating machine, the parameters can be adjusted according to the distribution of various plasmas, so that the uniformity of the distribution of various plasmas is higher, and after adjusting the parameters, the distribution of various plasmas after adjustment can be directly understood, and when the distribution of various plasmas does not meet the preset requirements, the parameters can be continuously adjusted until the distribution of various plasmas is uniform, thereby improving the adjustment efficiency and accuracy.

[0098] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, in some embodiments of the application, the plasma generating assembly 200 includes a generating chamber 220 connected to the coating chamber 100, part of the plasma flow channel 210 is located in the generating chamber 220, and the light detection probe 300 is arranged in the plasma generating assembly 200.

[0099] It is worth understanding that the plasma generating assembly 200 is used to form the plasma flow channel 210, and the light detection probe 300 is arranged in the generating chamber. During the process of forming the plasma flow channel 210 in the generating chamber 220 by the plasma generating assembly 200, the light detection probe 300 directly detects the distribution of various plasmas at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction, and the installation space of the light detection probe 300 in the generating chamber is larger, and the modification is more convenient.

[0100] In some embodiments of the application, the light detection probe 300 is arranged in the coating chamber 100 and located between the substrate 120 and the side of the coating chamber 100 connected to the plasma generating assembly 200.

[0101] It is worth understanding that the substrate 120 completes coating in the coating chamber 100, and the distribution of the plasma in the space close to the lower surface of the substrate 120 is highly consistent with the plasma distribution of the film layer of the substrate 120. By directly detecting the distribution of various plasmas in this space range through the light detection probe 300, the accuracy of the distribution of various plasmas detected by the light detection probe 300 can be improved.

[0102] In the embodiment, the light detection probe 300 is arranged between the lower surface of the substrate 120 and the communication position between the coating chamber 100 and the generation chamber, so as to avoid the movement of the substrate 120 along the third direction from shielding the light detection probe 300, and the detection accuracy can be improved. Of course, without considering the shielding of the substrate 120, the light detection probe 300 can be arranged at any position of the coating chamber 100, as long as the light detection probe 300 is arranged towards the partial plasma flow channel 210 in the coating chamber 100.

[0103] Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in some embodiments of the present application, the plasma flow channel 210 includes a sublimation zone 211 and a deposition zone 212 along the second direction, and the light detection probe 300 is arranged towards the deposition zone 212.

[0104] It should be noted that, for evaporation coating or magnetron sputtering coating, the plasma flow channel 210 only has the sublimation zone 211 and the deposition zone 212, and for reactive plasma deposition (RPD), the plasma flow channel 210 further includes a dissociation zone 213. The sublimation zone 211 refers to a high-temperature region formed near the surface of the target material 500, which has a widened high-brightness spectrum line in the high-temperature region, and the spectrum line has more peaks. The deposition zone 212 refers to a region near the surface of the substrate 120, in which region, most of the plasma is used for coating. The dissociation zone 213 refers to a region formed by the electron beam emitted by the plasma generation source 600 between the sublimation zone 211 and the deposition zone 212, in which region, various particles collide and are charged to form positive and negative ions.

[0105] Generally, when the light detection probe 300 is arranged towards the deposition zone 212, the distribution of various plasmas in the plasma flow channel 210 detected by the light detection probe 300 is very close to the distribution of various plasmas in the film layer of the substrate 120, so that the detection result is more accurate.

[0106] In the reactive plasma deposition (RPD), the light detection probe 300 can also be arranged towards the dissociation zone 213, and the light detection probe 300 can also detect the distribution of various plasmas in the plasma flow channel 210.

[0107] In some other embodiments of the present application, at least two groups of light detection probes 300 are also distributed along the second direction.

[0108] Specifically, part of the light detection probes 300 are arranged towards the sublimation zone 211, and the other part of the light detection probes 300 are arranged towards the deposition zone 212, so as to detect the change process of the plasma flow channel 210 along the second direction, and the distribution change of various plasmas in the plasma flow channel 210 can be understood in more detail.

[0109] In the reactive plasma deposition (RPD), all the light detection probes 300 can be divided into two parts, respectively facing two of the sublimation zone 211, the dissociation zone 213 and the deposition zone 212, or all the light detection probes 300 are divided into three parts, respectively facing the sublimation zone 211, the dissociation zone 213 and the deposition zone 212. In the embodiment, at least two groups of light detection probes 300 are arranged to face the dissociation zone 213, and at least two groups of light detection probes 300 are arranged to face the deposition zone 212.

[0110] Of course, a plurality of groups of light detection probes 300 can also be distributed in the deposition zone 212 along the second direction to obtain the change process of the deposition zone 212 of the plasma flow channel 210 along the second direction, so that the plasma distribution change in the deposition zone 212 can be more detailed.

[0111] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, in some embodiments of the present application, the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0112] It is worth understanding that the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, so that the plasma flow channel 210 can vertically impact the surface of the substrate 120 for deposition, the first direction is perpendicular to the third direction, and the strip-shaped deposition zone can form a rectangular deposition plane, which is more convenient to use, and the second direction is perpendicular to the third direction, so that the distance from any position in the deposition zone to the target 500 is basically the same, and the uniformity of the deposition film thickness is better.

[0113] Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments of the present application, the direction of the light detection probe 300 is perpendicular to the second direction.

[0114] In the embodiment, the light detection probe 300 faces the plasma flow channel 210 along the first direction to detect various plasma distributions of the plasma flow channel 210 at the same height, thereby improving the detection accuracy. As another implementation, the light detection probe 300 can also be inclined to face the plasma flow channel 210.

[0115] Specifically, the light detection probe 300 includes an incident probe and a receiving probe opposite to the incident probe, the plasma flow channel 210 is between the incident probe and the receiving probe, and the receiving probe is optically connected to the spectrometer 400. Wherein, the incident probe and the receiving probe are both collimating lenses, and the receiving probe is optically connected with an optical fiber, and the mixed glow is transported into the spectrometer 400 through the optical fiber.

[0116] Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments of the present application, the light detection probe 300 includes a reflection probe for receiving reflected light.

[0117] It is worth understanding that the reflection probe receives the light emitted by the ions itself without the interference of light sources in other directions, and the spectrometer 400 directly forms the spectral data of the light emitted by the ions, which can effectively reduce the interference of stray light and improve the accuracy of detection.

[0118] Further, the light detection probe 300 also includes a light absorber relative to the reflection probe. By absorbing light relative to the wall surface of the mirror through the light absorber, the stray light is refracted into the reflection probe, which can effectively reduce the interference of stray light and further improve the accuracy of detection. In the embodiment, the light absorber is a pyramid. Alternatively, the light detection probe 300 also includes a mirror relative to the reflection probe, which increases the light intensity entering the reflection probe through the mirror, thereby improving the accuracy of detection.

[0119] In some specific embodiments of the present application, the controller is further configured to control the plasma generating assembly 200 to make the proportion of various plasma components in the plasma flow channel 210 within the preset range when the detected proportion of various plasma components is outside the preset range.

[0120] It is worth understanding that the automatic control adjustment by the controller improves the debugging efficiency of the vacuum coating machine.

[0121] Specifically, referring to FIG. 5, the plasma generating assembly 200 includes a main power supply, a plasma generating source 600, a beam guide 510, a thickness compensation plate 221, a gas source, and a generating chamber 220. The main power supply is used to control the current of the whole plasma generating assembly 200; the plasma generating source 600 is provided with a beam expanding electromagnet coil 610 and a deflection electromagnet coil 620, which are used to control the opening angle and distribution area of the electron beam emitted by the plasma generating source; the beam guide 510 is provided with an electromagnet coil, which is used to converge the electron beam to the surface of the target ingot; the thickness compensation plate 221 is installed on the top of the generating chamber 220 along the third direction and located on one side or both sides of the strip-shaped coating area along the third direction, which shortens the travel distance of the deposition above the target material, and the shape of the coating area can be maintained as a strip shape rather than an oval shape, so that the width of the strip-shaped coating area along the first direction is consistent, and the thickness of the film layer on the substrate 120 along the third direction is accumulated uniformly.

[0122] The controller controls the plasma generating assembly 200 to make the proportion of various plasma components in the plasma flow channel 210 within the preset range, including performing at least one of the following controls:

[0123] 1. Control the amount of current of the main power supply, increase or decrease the current of the main power supply to change the amount of gas ions;

[0124] 2. Controlling the current of the beam expanding electromagnet coil 610 of the plasma generating source 600, so that the distribution area of the electron beam emitted by the plasma generating source 600 is changed;

[0125] 3. Controlling the current of the deflection electromagnet coil 620 of the plasma generating source 600, so that the trajectory of the electron beam emitted by the plasma generating source 600 is changed;

[0126] 4. Controlling the argon flux of the plasma generating source 600, so that the amount of the electron beam emitted by the plasma generating source 600 is changed;

[0127] 5. Controlling the position of the beam guide 510, so that the relative position of the electron beam and the target material 500 is changed;

[0128] 6. Controlling the current of the electromagnet coil of the beam guide 510, so that the contact surface of the electron beam and the target material 500 is changed;

[0129] 7. Controlling the position of the thickness compensation plate 221, so that the shape of the coating area is changed;

[0130] 8. Controlling the proportion of the gas source, so that the amount of the gas ion is changed;

[0131] 9. Controlling the total pressure of the gas source, so that the amount of the gas ion is changed;

[0132] 10. Controlling the position of the gas source, so that the distribution of the gas ion is changed;

[0133] 11. Controlling the temperature of the cavity wall of the generating chamber 220, so that the amount of the gas ion is changed.

[0134] The second aspect of the present application provides a vacuum coating machine, comprising: a coating chamber 100, a plasma generating assembly 200, at least two groups of light detection probes 300, a spectrometer 400 and a controller, the coating chamber 100 is provided with a to-be-coated position 110 for coating a static substrate 120 or a self-rotating substrate 120; the plasma generating assembly 200 is communicated with the coating chamber 100 and is provided with a plasma flow channel 210 facing the to-be-coated position 110 along a second direction; at least two groups of light detection probes 300 are distributed along a fourth direction, different light detection probes 300 face different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the fourth direction, the light detection probes 300 are used for detecting mixed light emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel 210, and the fourth direction intersects the second direction; the spectrometer 400 is optically connected to the light detection probes 300, so as to decompose the mixed light and convert it into spectral data; the controller is electrically connected to the spectrometer 400 and is used for receiving and processing the spectral data emitted by the spectrometer 400, so as to obtain the proportion of various plasmas at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the fourth direction.

[0135] In the embodiment, the to-be-coated position 110 has a static substrate 120 or a self-rotating substrate 120, the plasma flow channel 210 directly enters the surface of the substrate 120 in a straight line, and in an ideal case, the plasma flow channel 210 directly forms a concentric circular film layer on the surface of the substrate 120. The coating chamber 100 can also have a coating conveying line along a first direction, after the substrate 120 is conveyed to the to-be-coated position 110, the coating conveying line stops, so that the substrate 120 at the to-be-coated position 110 is coated in a static state. The vacuum coating machine also comprises a target material 500, the particles on the surface of the target material 500 are vaporized by directly heating the target material 500, the gaseous particles move along the plasma flow channel 210 and are deposited on the surface of the substrate 120 to form a film. The self-rotating substrate 120 can make the film thickness distribution more uniform.

[0136] The plasma flow channel 210 directly forms a planar film layer on the substrate 120, and the coating area can be understood as planar, so the fourth direction can be the same as the first direction or the third direction, which can detect various plasma distributions in the plasma flow channel 210. In the embodiment, part of the light detection probes 300 are distributed along the first direction, and the other part of the light detection probes 300 are distributed along the third direction.

[0137] It is worth understanding that the light detection probe 300 is arranged towards the plasma flow channel 210 and directly detects the glow emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel 210, and the glow is transmitted to the spectrometer 400, the spectrometer 400 analyzes the spectral data of various plasmas, and then the controller processes the plasma composition ratio of various plasmas. Two or more light detection probes 300 detect different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the fourth direction, obtain the plasma composition ratio of various plasmas at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210 along the fourth direction, and the distribution of various plasmas at different positions of the film coating area along the fourth direction, realize real-time monitoring of the distribution of various plasmas, and when the vacuum coating machine is debugged, the parameters can be adjusted according to the distribution of various plasmas, so that the uniformity of the distribution of various plasmas is higher, and after adjusting the parameters, the distribution of various plasmas after adjustment can be directly understood, and when the distribution of various plasmas does not meet the preset requirements, the distribution of various plasmas can be directly adjusted until the distribution of various plasmas is uniform, thereby improving the adjustment efficiency and adjustment accuracy.

[0138] The third aspect of the present application provides a debugging method, which uses the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect or the second aspect, and the specific steps include:

[0139] S1: start the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect;

[0140] S2: different light detection probes 300 detect the glow at different positions in the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction, and the spectrometer 400 receives the mixed glow detected by the light detection probe 300 to detect the plasma composition ratio at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210;

[0141] S3: if the plasma composition ratio at different positions is outside the preset range, then adjust the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine, and repeat S2 until the measured plasma composition ratio is within the preset range;

[0142] Or,

[0143] S1: start the vacuum coating machine of the second aspect;

[0144] S2: different light detection probes 300 detect the glow at different positions in the plasma flow channel 210 along the fourth direction, and the spectrometer 400 receives the mixed glow detected by the light detection probe 300 to detect the plasma composition ratio at different positions of the plasma flow channel 210;

[0145] S3: if the plasma composition ratio at different positions is outside the preset range, then adjust the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine, and repeat S2 until the measured plasma composition ratio is within the preset range.

[0146] Specifically, the plasma distribution of the plasma flow channel 210 along the third direction or the fourth direction can be directly known through the light detection probe 300, the optical spectrometer 400 and the controller, and the vacuum coating machine can be directly adjusted according to the plasma distribution. The adjusted plasma distribution can be fed back in real time, and the adjusted plasma distribution can be adjusted again to improve the adjustment efficiency and the adjustment accuracy.

[0147] It is worth understanding that after the distribution of the plasma is detected, the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine are adjusted so that the composition ratio of various plasmas in the plasma flow channel 210 when reaching the surface of the substrate 120 is within a preset range, thereby improving the uniformity of the various plasma distributions of the film layer on the substrate 120, reducing the sheet resistance of the substrate 120, and improving the film coating performance of the substrate 120.

[0148] Referring to FIG. 5, in some embodiments of the present application, in S3, the equipment adjustment parameters of the vacuum coating machine include at least one of the following parameters: the conveying speed of the film coating conveying line; the potential of the carrier plate carrying the substrate 120 on the film coating conveying line; the current of the main power supply; the current of the beam expansion electromagnet coil 610 of the plasma generation source 600; the current of the deflection electromagnet coil 620 of the plasma generation source 600; the argon flux of the plasma generation source 600; the position of the beam guide 510; the current of the electromagnet coil of the beam guide 510; the position of the thickness compensation plate 221; the shape of the thickness compensation plate 221; the total pressure of the gas source; the gas supply position of the gas source; and the cavity wall temperature of the generation chamber 220. The shape of the thickness compensation plate 221 can also change the shape of the film coating area, and the conveying speed of the film coating conveying line and the potential of the carrier plate both affect the adhesion uniformity of the plasma in the film coating area. The other parameters are not described here.

[0149] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the fourth aspect embodiment of the present application proposes an RPD vacuum coating equipment, which includes the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect embodiment or the second aspect embodiment. It is worth understanding that the RPD vacuum coating equipment uses the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect embodiment or the second aspect embodiment, and the adjustment efficiency and the adjustment accuracy of the RPD vacuum coating equipment are higher.

[0150] In this embodiment, the RPD vacuum coating equipment is a multi-furnace equipment, that is, there are multiple plasma flow channels 210 in the same plasma generation assembly 200, and the substrate 120 is coated by the multiple plasma flow channels 210 to improve the production efficiency.

[0151] In addition, the vacuum coating machine of the first aspect embodiment or the second aspect embodiment can also be applied to an evaporation coating equipment or a magnetron sputtering coating equipment.

[0152] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application.

Claims

1. A vacuum coating machine, characterized in that: include: The coating chamber is provided with a position to be coated and a coating conveying line along a first direction, wherein the coating conveying line passes through the position to be coated to convey the substrate through the position to be coated and coat the surface of the substrate; a plasma generating assembly connected to the coating chamber and provided with a plasma flow channel extending along a second direction toward the location to be coated, wherein the plasma flow channel forms a coating area along a third direction at the location to be coated, wherein the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction intersect with each other; at least two groups of light detection probes spaced apart along the third direction, with different light detection probes facing different positions of the plasma flow channel along the third direction, and the light detection probes being used to detect mixed glow emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel; a spectrometer, optically connected to the light detection probe, for obtaining spectral data based on the mixed glow; The controller is electrically connected to the spectrometer and is used to receive and process the spectrum data sent by the spectrometer to obtain the plasma composition ratios at different positions of the plasma flow channel along the third direction.

2. The vacuum coating machine according to claim 1, wherein: The plasma generating assembly includes a generating chamber connected to the coating chamber, a portion of the plasma flow channel is located in the generating chamber, and the light detection probe is provided in the generating chamber; or, The light detection probe is arranged in the coating chamber and is located between the position to be coated and the side of the coating chamber connected to the plasma generating assembly.

3. The vacuum coating machine according to claim 1, wherein: The plasma flow channel includes a sublimation area and a deposition area along the second direction, and the light detection probe is arranged toward the deposition area.

4. The vacuum coating machine according to claim 1, wherein: The plasma flow channel includes a sublimation zone, a dissociation zone and a deposition zone along the second direction, and the light detection probe is arranged toward the dissociation zone and / or the deposition zone.

5. The vacuum coating machine according to claim 1, wherein: At least two groups of light detection probes are also spaced apart and distributed along the second direction.

6. The vacuum coating machine according to claim 1, wherein: The controller is further configured to: when the detected plasma composition ratio is outside a preset range, control the plasma generating assembly to make the plasma composition ratio in the plasma flow channel fall within a preset range.

7. The vacuum coating machine according to claim 6, wherein: The plasma generating assembly includes a main power supply, a plasma generating source, a beam guide, a thickness compensation plate, a gas source and a generating chamber; The controller controls the plasma generating assembly so that the plasma composition ratio in the plasma flow channel is within a preset range, including performing at least one of the following controls: controlling the current of the main power supply; Controlling the current of the beam expansion electromagnet coil of the plasma generating source; Controlling the current of the deflection electromagnet coil of the plasma generating source; controlling the argon gas flux of the plasma generating source; controlling the position of the beam guide; controlling the current of the electromagnet coil of the beam guide; controlling the position of the thickness compensation plate; controlling the ventilation composition ratio of the gas source; controlling the total ventilation pressure of the gas source; controlling the ventilation position of the gas source; The wall temperature of the generating chamber is controlled.

8. A vacuum coating machine, characterized in that: include: The coating chamber is provided with a coating position for coating a stationary substrate or a rotating substrate; A plasma generating assembly is connected to the coating chamber and is provided with a plasma flow channel along a second direction toward the location to be coated; at least two groups of light detection probes spaced apart along a fourth direction, with different light detection probes facing different positions of the plasma flow channel along the fourth direction, and the light detection probes being used to detect mixed glow emitted by the plasma in the plasma flow channel, wherein the fourth direction intersects the second direction; a spectrometer optically connected to the light detection probe to decompose the mixed glow and convert it into spectral data; The controller is electrically connected to the spectrometer and is used to receive and process the spectrum data emitted by the spectrometer to obtain the plasma composition ratios at different positions of the plasma flow channel along the fourth direction.

9. A debugging method, characterized in that: Using the vacuum coating machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the specific steps include: S1: Starting the vacuum coating machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7; S2: different light detection probes detect the glow at different positions in the plasma flow channel along the third direction, and the spectrometer receives the mixed glow detected by the light detection probes to detect the plasma composition ratio at different positions in the plasma flow channel; S3: If the plasma composition ratio at different positions is outside the preset range, adjusting the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine and repeating S2 until the measured plasma composition ratio is within the preset range; or, S1: Starting the vacuum coating machine according to claim 8; S2: different light detection probes detect the glow at different positions in the plasma flow channel along the fourth direction, and the spectrometer receives the mixed glow detected by the light detection probes to detect the plasma composition ratio at different positions in the plasma flow channel; S3: If the plasma composition ratio at different positions is outside the preset range, the equipment parameters of the vacuum coating machine are adjusted, and S2 is repeated until the measured plasma composition ratio is within the preset range.

10. The debugging method according to claim 9, wherein: In S3, the equipment debugging parameters of the vacuum coating machine include at least one of the following parameters: The conveying speed of the coating conveyor line; The potential of the carrier board carrying the substrate on the coating conveyor line; The current of the main power supply; The current of the beam expansion electromagnet coil of the plasma generating source; The current of the deflection electromagnet coil of the plasma generating source; Argon gas flux of the plasma generating source; The location of the beam guide; the current of the electromagnet coil of the beam guide; Position of thickness compensation plate; the shape of the thickness compensation plate; The ventilation composition ratio of the gas source; The total ventilation pressure of the gas source; the ventilation position of the gas source; The wall temperature of the generating chamber.

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