JP5772736B2 - Atomic layer deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ALD apparatus for forming a thin film layer by an atomic layer deposition (hereinafter referred to as ALD) method.

  Conventionally, there is an ALD apparatus that forms a thin film layer using an ALD method (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the ALD method, a thin film layer such as a protective film is formed by evaporating (depositing) atomic layers one by one. A conventional ALD apparatus is configured such that a reaction chamber is installed in a vacuum vessel, and a transport rod for a substrate on which a thin film layer is to be formed is arranged in the reaction chamber. Then, while reducing the pressure inside the vacuum vessel to bring it close to a vacuum state, the substrate is heated and a gas for forming a thin film layer is introduced into the reaction chamber, and a thin film layer is formed by vapor phase growth in the reaction chamber. doing.

  In addition to the reaction chamber being installed in the vacuum vessel, such an ALD apparatus is provided with a heating mechanism for raising and lowering the substrate and heating the substrate, as well as a vertical mechanism for raising and lowering the mask and the substrate. It has been.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-20075

  When a thin film layer is formed using the above-described conventional ALD apparatus so that the element part is covered but the terminal drawn from the element part is not covered like an organic EL apparatus, a mask is provided on the substrate surface. Thus, mask film formation for forming a thin film layer is required. Then, it is necessary to provide an alignment mechanism to align the substrate and the mask (alignment).

  However, if an alignment mechanism is provided for a conventional ALD apparatus, the reaction chamber becomes larger, and the volume of the reaction chamber into which gas is introduced becomes larger. Therefore, the material efficiency (contribution ratio to thin film layer formation with respect to the amount of gas introduced) ). In addition, alignment confirmation is performed by taking an image with a CCD camera or the like, but a film is attached to the window of the CCD camera, and alignment becomes difficult as the film formation proceeds. In addition, since the shape in the reaction chamber is complicated, gas supply control becomes difficult. Further, in the case of a single wafer type in which the process of forming a thin film layer on a substrate in which an EL element is formed is performed on each substrate in order, the substrate is heated after the substrate is loaded into the reaction chamber. The tact time becomes longer.

  In view of the above points, the present invention can improve the material efficiency by reducing the volume of the reaction chamber, accurately align the film even when the thin film layer is formed, and easily perform the gas supply control. A first object of the present invention is to provide an ALD apparatus that can be used. In addition, a second object is to provide an ALD apparatus capable of shortening the tact time.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention described in claim 1, a reaction chamber having an upper base (12) and a lower base (13) and configured by combining the upper base and the lower base ( 11) is housed in the first chamber (1), is connected to the first chamber, and is connected to the first chamber. A mask (31) is disposed on the substrate (30) to perform alignment adjustment. A second chamber (2) provided with an alignment adjustment mechanism (21); and a movement control unit (4) for moving the lower base from the second chamber to the first chamber. When the lower base is placed in the second chamber, a mask is placed on the substrate to perform alignment adjustment, and the lower base is placed on the substrate and the mask by the movement control unit. It is moved to the first chamber, characterized by constituting the reaction chamber by combining the lower base and an upper base and a.

  As described above, the first chamber for forming the thin film layer by the ALD method and the second chamber for adjusting the alignment are divided into separate chambers. For this reason, since it is not necessary to provide an alignment adjustment mechanism in the reaction chamber for forming a thin film layer by the ALD method, the volume in the reaction chamber can be reduced, and the material efficiency can be improved. In addition, since the alignment adjusting mechanism is provided in the second chamber different from the reaction chamber, it is not affected by the gas in the reaction chamber, and the shape of the reaction chamber can be simplified. For this reason, even if the film formation of the thin film layer proceeds, alignment can be performed accurately and gas supply control can be easily performed.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a plurality of lower bases and masks are provided, and a plurality of lower bases and masks are stocked in the second chamber.

  As described above, when a plurality of lower bases and masks are stocked in the second chamber, alignment adjustment can be performed in parallel during the formation of the thin film layer by the ALD method in the reaction chamber.

  In this case, as described in claim 3, if the second chamber is provided with a heating mechanism (20) for performing preheating before moving the lower base to the first chamber, the ALD method in the reaction chamber is performed. Preheating can be performed in parallel during the formation of the thin film layer by the above method. Therefore, the tact time can be shortened.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means shows an example of a corresponding relationship with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the ALD apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective schematic diagram of the reaction chamber with which the ALD apparatus of FIG. 1 is equipped. It is sectional drawing which showed a mode when installing a board | substrate and a mask in the reaction chamber with which the ALD apparatus of FIG. 1 is equipped, and forming a thin film layer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, parts that are the same or equivalent to each other will be described with the same reference numerals.

(First embodiment)
An ALD apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ALD apparatus includes two chambers 1 and 2, a first chamber 1 and a second chamber 2. The first chamber 1 is used as a chamber for forming a thin film layer by the ALD method, and the second chamber 2 is used as a chamber for adjusting alignment and preheating, which is provided along with the first chamber 1.

  The first chamber 1 accommodates the reaction chamber 11 and forms a thin film layer by the ALD method, but accommodates only the upper base 12 of the reaction chamber 11 in a state before alignment adjustment. . The upper base 12 constitutes a lid in the reaction chamber 11 and has a rectangular shape with a rectangular frame-like side surface provided below the square plate-like portion constituting the upper surface. . As shown in FIG. 2, the upper base 12 is provided with a gas inlet 12a and a gas outlet 12b vacated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1, and supplied from a gas supply device (not shown) through the gas inlet 12a. A gas for forming a thin film layer is introduced, and unreacted gas and the like are discharged from the gas discharge port 12b. A vacuum device 14 is attached to the first chamber 1, and a reduced pressure atmosphere is obtained by vacuum suction by the vacuum device 14, and the vacuum state including the inside of the reaction chamber 11 can be achieved.

  The reaction chamber 11 is provided with a lower base 13 in addition to the upper base 12. The lower base 13 is movable between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2. Specifically, the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 are connected by a communication passage 3, and the lower base 13 can move between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 through the communication passage 3. It is configured. Then, the substrate 30 and the mask 31 are mounted on the lower base 13 using the lower base 13 as a folder, and the substrate 30 and the mask 31 can be moved from the second chamber 2 to the first chamber 1 by moving the lower base 13. It has become.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower base 13 is configured by a plate-like member, and an elastomer is formed on a portion of the surface (the installation surface of the substrate 30) on which the upper base 12 is mounted. It is set as the structure provided with sealing members 13a, such as O-ring comprised by these. By providing such a seal member 13a, the space between the upper base 12 and the lower base 13 is sealed by the seal member 13a, so that airtightness can be maintained. Further, a seal member 13 b having a size corresponding to the substrate 30 is provided on the inner side of the surface of the lower base 13 with respect to the seal member 13 a. This seal member 13b is also configured by, for example, an O-ring, and maintains the airtightness between the substrate 30 and the lower base 13, and the gas used when forming a thin film layer by the ALD method does not enter the back side of the substrate 30. I am doing so.

  Such movement of the lower base 13 is performed by the folder movement control unit 4. As the movement of the lower base 13 by the folder movement control unit 4, not only the movement between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 but also the vertical movement of the lower base 13 in the first chamber 1 is performed. By this vertical movement, the lower base 13 moved into the first chamber 1 is moved to the upper base 12 side, and the upper base 12 and the lower base 13 are combined as shown in FIG. It has become so.

  Although not shown, a plurality of lower bases 13 and masks 31 having the same structure are provided and stocked in the second chamber 2. Therefore, when one lower base 13 is moved from the second chamber 2 to the first chamber 1 together with the substrate 30 and the mask 31, the next lower base 13 is mounted with a predetermined position of the second chamber 2, that is, the substrate 30. Thus, it is arranged at a position where alignment adjustment can be performed. And while moving the one lower base 13 to the 1st chamber 1 and forming a thin film layer, the board | substrate 30 is installed on the following lower base 13, and alignment adjustment of the mask 31 is performed, and the board | substrate 30 is provided. It is possible to perform heating.

  Further, the reaction chamber 11 is provided with a heating mechanism (not shown) so that the substrate 30 and the like disposed in the reaction chamber 11 can be heated by the heating mechanism when forming a thin film layer by the ALD method. It has become. As will be described later, the airtightness of the reaction chamber 11 and the airtightness between the lower base 13 and the substrate 30 are maintained by seal members 13a and 13b made of elastomer or the like. For this reason, in order to suppress deterioration of the seal members 13a and 13b due to high temperature, the heating mechanism provided in the reaction chamber 11 is preferably a mechanism that performs heating at a heating temperature of 200 ° C. or less.

  The second chamber 2 arranges the substrate 30 and the mask 31 in the internal space, aligns the mask 31, adjusts the alignment of the mask 31 with respect to the substrate 30, and mounts the mask 31 at a desired position on the substrate 30. Specifically, the substrate 30 is placed with the lower base 13 moved into the second chamber 2 during alignment adjustment, and the mask 31 is placed above the substrate 30. This state is photographed by a plurality of CCD cameras 21 constituting an alignment adjustment mechanism disposed above the second chamber 2, and the mask 31 is placed on the substrate 30 based on the photographing result while taking the photographed image into the alignment adjustment unit 5. Move it horizontally with the surface of the to align. That is, while the element portion of the substrate 30 on which the EL element is formed is exposed from the opening of the mask 31, the terminal is covered with the mask 31. In this way, alignment adjustment for mounting the mask 31 at a desired position on the substrate 30 can be performed.

  The second chamber 2 is provided with a heating mechanism 20. The heating mechanism 20 is installed, for example, so as to be positioned below the lower base 13 when the lower base 13 is moved into the second chamber 2 and preheats the substrate 30 from the back side. The heating mechanism 20 may be anything such as a heater. However, as will be described later, the airtightness of the reaction chamber 11 and the airtightness between the lower base 13 and the substrate 30 are maintained by seal members 13a and 13b made of elastomer or the like. For this reason, in order to suppress deterioration of the sealing members 13a and 13b due to high temperature, it is preferable to use a mechanism for heating at 200 ° C. or lower. Conventionally, since a high temperature specification is used, a metal seal is used for maintaining airtightness, but an elastomer seal is used for the seal members 13a and 13b as a low temperature specification. For this reason, when the upper base and the lower base 13 are used as the combined reaction chamber 11, there is an effect that precise alignment accuracy is not necessary, and unlike metal seals, the use can be performed a plurality of times and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, a vacuum device 22 is also attached to the second chamber 2, and is configured to be in a reduced pressure atmosphere by a vacuum suction by the vacuum device 22 so as to be in a vacuum state.

  The ALD apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured by the above structure. Next, a method for forming a thin film layer using the ALD method by the ALD apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  First, an EL element is formed on the substrate 30 by a conventional method. At this time, the layout is performed so that terminals composed of a wiring pattern or the like are drawn out from the element portion where the EL element is formed. Subsequently, one of the lower bases 13 is installed at a predetermined position in the second chamber 2, and the substrate 30 on which EL elements are formed is mounted on the lower base 13.

  Thereafter, while preheating is performed at 200 ° C. or less by the heating mechanism 20 or before preheating, the mask 31 is placed on the substrate 30, and the mask is adjusted by the alignment adjustment unit 5 based on the captured image of the CCD camera 21. 31 is moved horizontally with respect to the surface of the substrate 30 to perform alignment adjustment. As a result, the terminal portion is covered with the mask 31 while the element portion of the substrate 30 on which the EL element is formed is exposed from the opening of the mask 31.

  At this time, it is preferable that the mask 31 is fixed to the substrate 30 side so that the mask 31 and the substrate 30 are not misaligned in the subsequent process. For example, the mask 31 is made of a magnetic material, and the lower base 13 is made of an electromagnet or the like. When the alignment adjustment is performed, the mask 31 can be fixed to the substrate 30 side by energizing the lower base 13 and magnetically attracting the mask 31.

  When the alignment adjustment is completed in this manner, the lower base 13 is moved from the second chamber 2 to the first chamber 1 together with the substrate 30 and the mask 31 by the folder movement control unit 4 in a state where the preheating is performed by the heating mechanism 20. Move.

  Then, when the lower base 13 reaches below the upper base 12, the lower base 13 is moved upward by the folder movement control unit 4, and the upper base 12 and the lower base 13 are combined via the seal member 13a, and the reaction chamber 11 is configured. As a result, the reaction chamber 11 is accommodated in the first chamber 1.

  Thereafter, a gas for forming the thin film layer is introduced into the reaction chamber 11 from the gas inlet 12a using the gas supply device, and the unreacted gas is discharged from the gas outlet 12b while masking the substrate 30 by the ALD method. A thin film layer is formed in a portion not covered with 31. At this time, although the reaction chamber 11 is also heated, deterioration of the seal members 13a and 13b due to high temperature can be suppressed by setting the temperature to 200 ° C. or lower. Thus, the thin film layer is formed so that the element portion on which the EL element is formed is covered with the thin film layer, and the terminal drawn from the element portion is not covered. Thus, a thin film layer can be formed by the ALD apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, according to the ALD apparatus of this embodiment, the first chamber 1 for forming the thin film layer by the ALD method and the second chamber 2 for adjusting the alignment are divided into separate chambers. . For this reason, since it is not necessary to provide an alignment adjusting mechanism in the reaction chamber 11 for forming a thin film layer by the ALD method, the volume in the reaction chamber 11 can be reduced, and the material efficiency can be improved. . Further, since the alignment adjusting mechanism is provided in the second chamber 2 different from the reaction chamber 11, it is not affected by the gas in the reaction chamber 11, and the shape of the reaction chamber 11 can be simplified. For this reason, even if the film formation of the thin film layer proceeds, alignment can be performed accurately and gas supply control can be easily performed.

  Furthermore, according to the ALD apparatus of the present embodiment, the plurality of lower bases 13 are provided, the substrate 30 is placed on the lower base 13 on the second chamber 2 side, and the alignment of the mask 31 can be adjusted. Heating is also possible. For this reason, alignment adjustment and preheating can be performed in parallel with respect to the other substrate 30, the mask 31, and the lower base 30 during the formation of the thin film layer by the ALD method in the reaction chamber 11. Therefore, the tact time can be shortened.

  Further, in addition to the movement between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 by mounting the substrate 30 and the mask 31 on the lower base 13 constituting a part of the reaction chamber 11 and moving the lower base 13, Vertical movement within the first chamber 1 is also possible. For this reason, it suffices if a moving mechanism for the lower base 13 is provided, and it is not necessary to provide a separate vertical mechanism only for moving the substrate 30 and the mask 31. Therefore, the volume of the reaction chamber 11 can be further reduced, and the material efficiency can be improved.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the gas introduction port 12 a and the gas introduction port 12 b of the reaction chamber 11 installed in the first chamber 1 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement of the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2. I am doing so. However, this form is merely an example, and the gas introduction and discharge may be performed in any form.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the lower base 31 was made into an electromagnet, it is not restricted to an electromagnet, It can also be used as a permanent magnet. In that case, since parts for energizing the lower base 13 can be eliminated, the apparatus can be simplified. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the case where the lower base 31 is a magnet, and the mask 31 side can be a magnet, or another fixing structure can be applied.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the EL element is formed on the substrate 30 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is applicable to any device that forms a thin film layer by the ALD method. The invention can be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st chamber 2 2nd chamber 3 Communication path 4 Folder movement control part 5 Alignment adjustment part 11 Reaction chamber 12 Upper base 13 Lower base 20 Heating mechanism 21 CCD camera 30 Substrate 31 Mask

Claims (5)

A mask (31) having an opening at a desired position is disposed on a substrate (30), and an atom for forming a thin film layer by atomic layer deposition on a portion of the substrate exposed from the opening of the mask. A layer deposition apparatus,
A reaction chamber (11) having an upper base (12) and a lower base (13), which is configured by combining the upper base and the lower base and deposits a thin film layer by the atomic layer deposition method. A first chamber (1) in which is housed;
A second chamber (2) provided in the first chamber and connected to the first chamber, the second chamber (2) including an alignment adjustment mechanism (21) for adjusting the alignment by arranging the mask on the substrate; ,
A movement control unit (4) for moving the lower base from the second chamber to the first chamber,
Using the lower base as a folder for the substrate and the mask, when the lower base is disposed in the second chamber, the mask is disposed on the substrate to perform alignment adjustment, and the movement control unit The atomic layer deposition apparatus, wherein the reaction chamber is configured by moving the lower base together with the substrate and the mask to the first chamber and combining the lower base and the upper base.   2. The atomic layer deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the lower base and the mask are provided, and the plurality of the lower base and the mask are stocked in the second chamber.   The atomic layer deposition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second chamber is provided with a heating mechanism (20) for performing preheating before moving the lower base to the first chamber. A seal member (13a) made of an elastomer is disposed between the upper base and the lower base, and the upper base and the lower base are brought into close contact with each other by the seal member so that airtightness is maintained. The structure is
The atomic layer deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber includes a heating mechanism that performs heating at a heating temperature of 200 ° C. or less.   5. The atomic layer deposition according to claim 1, wherein the mask is made of a magnetic material, and the mask is fixed to the substrate by magnetic attraction by a magnet from the lower base side. apparatus.

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