Hybrid Sputtering PECVD Dielectric Layer Elasticity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for depositing dielectric layers, such as those used in sensors and photovoltaics, face issues with brittleness, limited extensibility, and inadequate electrical insulation strength, especially on flexible substrates or under thermal cycling conditions.
Innovation Solution
A method combining reactive sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using a magnetron, where a reactive gas and a Si-containing precursor are introduced to create dielectric layers with enhanced electrical insulation and elasticity, allowing for the deposition of multilayer systems with alternating layers for improved performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reactive magnetron sputtering is used to deposit dielectric layers, then good electrical insulation and adhesion are achieved, but the layers become very brittle and have very little extensibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines reactive magnetron sputtering with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in a hybrid process. The sputtering component provides excellent electrical insulation and adhesion, while the PECVD component introduces organic precursors that enhance layer elasticity and reduce brittleness. This merging of two deposition techniques resolves the contradiction between achieving good insulation properties and maintaining layer flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The deposited dielectric layers have a composite structure combining inorganic components from the sputtered target material with organic components from the PECVD precursor. This composite material structure provides both the electrical insulation properties of inorganic materials and the flexibility/extensibility of organic materials, resolving the brittleness issue while maintaining insulation strength.
2Productivity
If CVD processes are used to deposit dielectric layers on large-area substrates, then high coating rates are achieved, but the electrical insulation strength is lower compared to sputtered layers
Solution Approach 1:
The hybrid process merges the advantages of both sputtering and CVD techniques. The sputtering component ensures high electrical insulation strength by depositing dense inorganic layers, while the PECVD component maintains high coating rates suitable for large-area substrates. The synergistic combination resolves the contradiction between insulation strength and productivity.
3Reliability
If post-oxidation of metal layers is used to create dielectric layers, then thin layers can be converted to dielectric, but only thin layers or surface of thicker layers can be post-oxidized making it unsuitable for thicker dielectric layers
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attempting to post-oxidize thick metal layers after deposition, the hybrid process performs preliminary action by depositing the dielectric layer directly in the desired thickness using the combined sputtering-PECVD process. This avoids the limitation of post-oxidation depth and enables direct formation of thick dielectric layers with proper insulation properties.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for depositing a dielectric layer on a substrate 12 within a vacuum chamber 11, wherein at least one target 14, consisting of one of the materials Al, Ti, Hf, Ta, Nb, Zr, Zn doped Si, is atomized into the vacuum chamber 11 by means of at least one magnetron 13 by means of a working gas and a reactive gas. During atomization, a Si-containing precursor is introduced into the vacuum chamber 11, the flow rates of the reactive gas and the precursor into the vacuum chamber 11 being adjusted such that both products from the reaction of atomized target particles with the reactive gas and products from the reaction of precursor components with the reactive gas each contribute at least 20% to the layer formation. The invention further relates to an application of the method.