JP2021113337A - Sputtering apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sputtering apparatus that can bring a target close to an object to be processed, increases a film deposition rate and has excellent maintainability.SOLUTION: A sputtering apparatus 100 for depositing a film on an object to be processed W by sputtering a target using a plasma includes: a vacuum vessel 2 to be evacuated; a target holding part 4 for holding a target T inside the vacuum vessel 2; a movement mechanism 3 for moving the object to be processed W under film deposition relative to the target T; and an antenna 5 provided outside the vacuum vessel 2 to generate a plasma inside the vacuum vessel 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus.

As a conventional sputtering apparatus, as shown in Patent Document 1, there is an apparatus in which a target arranged in a vacuum vessel is sputtered by plasma to form a film on an object to be processed.

More specifically, in this sputtering device, a target is held on the upper wall of a vacuum vessel, an antenna is placed between the target and an object to be processed, and a high-frequency current is passed through the antenna to generate plasma. By generating, the target is sputtered.

However, in the above-described configuration, since the antenna is arranged between the target and the object to be processed, the target cannot be brought close to the object to be processed, and there is a limit to the improvement of the film forming speed. Moreover, due to the sputtering of the target, the film adheres to the cover covering the antenna, which causes a decrease in the film forming speed and non-uniformity of the film quality, and also has a problem that maintenance takes time.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-154875

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem at once, the target can be brought closer to the object to be processed, the film formation speed is improved, the film quality is made uniform, and the maintainability is excellent. Its main task is to provide a sputtering apparatus.

That is, the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention is for sputtering a target using plasma to form a film on an object to be processed, and holds a vacuum vessel that is evacuated and a target that holds the target in the vacuum vessel. It is characterized by including a unit, a moving mechanism for moving the object to be processed being filmed with respect to the target, and an antenna provided outside the vacuum vessel to generate plasma in the vacuum vessel. It is something to do.

According to the sputtering apparatus configured in this way, since the antenna is provided outside the vacuum vessel, there is no restriction on the distance between the target and the object to be processed, and the target is the object to be processed. It is possible to improve the film formation speed. Moreover, since the antenna is provided on the outside of the vacuum vessel, the maintainability is excellent, and the object to be processed is moved with respect to the target by the moving mechanism, so that the film quality is made uniform. Can also be planned.

In order to form a uniform film on the outer peripheral surface of the object to be processed, the vacuum vessel has a tubular shape, and the moving mechanism rotates the object to be processed around an axis parallel to the axial direction of the vacuum vessel. It is desirable to let it.

In order to form a film on a plurality of objects to be processed at once or to form a film on a large-sized object to be processed, the antenna and the target extend along the axial direction of the vacuum vessel. It is desirable to be there.

The target holding portions are provided at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum container, and the antennas are provided at a plurality of locations corresponding to the target holding portions outside the vacuum vessel. Is desirable.
With such a configuration, since the film is formed using a plurality of targets and a plurality of antennas, the film forming speed can be further improved.

It is desirable that the vacuum vessel has a recessed space in which the side wall is recessed outward, and the target holding portion holds the target in the recessed space.
With such a configuration, the plasma can be efficiently guided to the target.

It is desirable that the recess has a tapered shape that extends toward the center of the vacuum vessel.
In this case, since the concave portion expands in a tapered shape, the sputtered particles ejected from the target can efficiently reach the object to be processed.

According to the present invention configured as described above, the target can be brought closer to the object to be processed, the film forming speed can be improved, the film quality can be made uniform, and the maintainability can be improved.

The cross-sectional view which shows typically the structure of the sputtering apparatus of one Embodiment. The vertical sectional view which shows typically the structure of the sputtering apparatus of the same embodiment. The top view which shows typically the structure of the sputtering apparatus of another embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the connection mode of a pair of antennas in another embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the connection mode of a pair of antennas in another embodiment. The cross-sectional view which shows typically the structure of the sputtering apparatus in another embodiment. The cross-sectional view which shows typically the structure of the sputtering apparatus in another embodiment. The cross-sectional view which shows typically the structure of the sputtering apparatus in another embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Device configuration>
In the sputtering apparatus of this embodiment, for example, in order to extend the life of an object to be processed such as a tool, a target is sputtered using plasma to form a film on the object to be processed. The object to be processed is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, a flexible substrate for a flexible display, or the like.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the sputtering apparatus 100 includes a vacuum vessel 2, a moving mechanism 3 for moving an object W to be processed, a target T in the vacuum vessel 2, and a target holding portion 4. An antenna 5 for generating plasma is provided in the vacuum container 2.

The vacuum container 2 is, for example, a metal container that houses the object W to be processed, and the inside thereof is evacuated by a vacuum exhaust device (not shown). A sputtering gas or a reactive gas is introduced into the vacuum vessel 2. The sputtering gas is, for example, an inert gas such as argon (Ar), and the reactive gas is, for example, oxygen (O ₂ ), nitrogen (N ₂ ), methane (CH ₃ ), or the like.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vacuum vessel 2 has a tubular shape, and in this embodiment, the cross section has, for example, an octagonal shape. The shape of the vacuum container 2 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a tubular shape having a circular cross section, a quadrangular shape, or a polygonal shape.

The moving mechanism 3 moves the object W to be processed in a predetermined direction with respect to the target T, and in this embodiment, the object W to be processed is rotated around an axis parallel to the axial direction of the vacuum vessel 2. It is configured to move.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving mechanism 3 includes a support base 31 that supports the object W to be processed on the outer peripheral surface, and a drive source 32 such as a motor that rotates the support base 31. There is.

The support base 31 is made of, for example, a columnar metal, and supports the object W to be processed at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface thereof, for example. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a bias voltage is applied to the object W to be processed from the bias power supply 6 via the support base 31. By rotating the support base 31 while supporting the plurality of objects W to be processed in this way, it is possible to form a film on the plurality of objects W to be processed at once. However, the support base 31 is not limited to this, and may have, for example, a columnar shape having a quadrangular cross section or a polygonal cross section. Further, a plurality of support bases 31 may be provided in the vacuum container 2.

The target holding unit 4 holds the target T in the vacuum container 2.
Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the target T has an elongated shape, and the target holding portion 4 also has an elongated shape. The target holding portion 4 is provided so as to close the opening formed in the side wall 21 of the vacuum container 2, and an insulation having a vacuum sealing function is provided between the target holding portion 4 and the side wall 21 of the vacuum container 2. A part 7 is provided.

The target holding portion 4 of the present embodiment extends along the axial direction of the vacuum vessel 2, and the target T also extends along the axial direction of the vacuum vessel 2. A target bias power supply 8 for applying a target bias voltage is connected to the target T via a target holding unit 4 in this example. The target bias voltage is a voltage that draws ions in the plasma into the target T and sputters them.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of target holding portions 4 are provided. These target holding portions 4 are provided at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction of the side wall 21 of the vacuum vessel 2, and are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction here. As a result, the plurality of targets T are held at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of the side wall 21 of the vacuum vessel 2, and are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction here. In this embodiment, the target bias power supply 8 described above is connected to each target T.

As shown in FIG. 2, the antenna 5 has a linear shape extending along the axial direction of the vacuum vessel 2, and a high-frequency current is applied from the high-frequency power source 9 to generate inductively coupled plasma in the vacuum vessel 2. It is something that makes you. The material of the antenna 5 is, for example, copper, aluminum, alloys thereof, stainless steel, and the like, but the material is not limited thereto. Further, the antenna 5 may be made hollow and a refrigerant such as cooling water may flow through the antenna 5 to cool the antenna 5.

A high-frequency power supply 9 is connected to the feeding end portion 5a, which is one end of the antenna 5, via a matching unit 91, and the ending portion 5b, which is the other end, is directly grounded. With this configuration, inductively coupled plasma is generated in the vacuum vessel 2 by passing a high frequency current from the high frequency power supply 9 to the antenna 5 via the matching device 91. The high frequency frequency is, for example, 13.56 MHz, which is common, but is not limited to this.

Therefore, the antenna 5 is provided outside the vacuum container 2.
More specifically, the antenna 5 is provided outside the vacuum vessel 2 at a location corresponding to each of the target holding portions 4 described above, and faces the dielectric window 10 provided on the side wall 21 of the vacuum vessel 2. It is arranged like this. Here, a pair of antennas 5 are provided so as to sandwich one target holding portion 4, and a plurality of sets of these pair of antennas 5 are provided corresponding to each target holding portion 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the sputtering apparatus 100 in this embodiment further includes a heater 11 for heating the object W to be processed.
Specifically, the heater 11 is attached to a lid that closes the opening formed in the side wall 21 of the vacuum vessel 2, and here, a pair of heaters 11 are provided at locations facing each other. As a result, the object W to be treated can be heated, so that the adhesion of the film to the object W to be processed can be improved. However, it is not always necessary to provide the heater 11, and even if the heater 11 is provided, the number and arrangement thereof are not limited to the mode shown in FIG. 1, and may be appropriately changed.

<Effect of this embodiment>
According to the sputtering apparatus 100 configured in this way, since the antenna 5 is provided outside the vacuum vessel 2, there is no restriction on the distance between the target T and the object W to be processed. The target T can be brought closer to the object W to be processed, and the film formation speed can be improved. Moreover, since the antenna 5 is provided outside the vacuum vessel 2, the maintainability is excellent, and the object W to be processed is moved by the moving mechanism 3, so that the film quality can be made uniform. It can be planned.

Further, since the moving mechanism 3 rotates the object to be processed W to be processed around an axis parallel to the axial direction of the vacuum vessel 2, a uniform film can be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the object to be processed W.

Further, since the film is formed by using the plurality of targets T and the plurality of antennas 5, the film forming speed can be improved.

<Other modified embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the target bias power supply 8 is connected to each of the plurality of targets T, but as shown in FIG. 3, a common target bias power supply 8 may be connected to the plurality of targets T. In this example, the common target bias power supply 8 is connected to the two targets T, but the number is not limited to this, and for example, all the target Ts may be connected to the common target bias power supply 8.

Further, the pair of antennas 5 provided corresponding to the target holding portions 4 may be connected in parallel as shown in FIG. 4, or may be connected in series as shown in FIG. ..

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an impedance adjusting element 5c such as a variable capacitor or a variable reactor may be provided between the pair of antennas 5 to adjust the impedance of each antenna 5. Further, although not shown, an impedance adjusting element 5c such as a variable capacitor or a variable reactor may be provided at the feeding end portion 5a of one antenna 5 or the terminal portion 5b of the other antenna 5.
With such a configuration, by adjusting the impedance of each antenna 5, the plasma density distribution in the longitudinal direction of the antenna 5 can be made uniform, and by extension, the film thickness in the longitudinal direction of the antenna 5 can be made uniform. be able to.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the vacuum vessel 2 has a recessed space 2s in which the side wall 21 is recessed outward, and the target holding portion 4 is configured to hold the target T in the recessed space 2s. It may have been done.

More specifically, in the vacuum vessel 2 in this embodiment, at least one side wall 21 has a main wall 2a and a pair of standing walls 2b that stand outward from the main wall 2a and face each other. There is.

A space surrounded by these pair of upright walls 2b is formed as a recessed space 2s, and a target holding portion 4 is provided at the bottom of the recessed space 2s, and the target T is held in the recessed space 2s. .. In this embodiment, the recessed spaces 2s are provided at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction of the vacuum vessel 2, and here, these recessed spaces 2s are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction.

Further, in this embodiment, a pair of antennas 5 are provided so as to sandwich the target holding portion 4. These antennas 5 are arranged so as to face the upright wall 2b outside the vacuum vessel 2, and each of the upright walls 2b is provided with a dielectric window 10.

By holding the target T in the recessed space 2s in this way, the plasma can be efficiently guided to the target T, and the film forming efficiency can be further improved.

As a supplement to the recessed space 2s described above, as shown in FIG. 7, it may be a tapered one that gradually expands toward the center of the vacuum vessel 2. That is, the pair of upright walls 2b described above may be inclined so as to gradually approach toward the outside.
With such a configuration, since the recessed space 2s expands in a tapered shape, the sputtered particles ejected from the target T can efficiently reach the object W to be processed.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, the vacuum container 2 may have a double-cylinder structure including an outer cylinder 2X and an inner cylinder 2Y. In such a configuration, the target holding portion 4 may be provided on the side wall 21 of the inner cylinder 2Y, and the antenna 5 may be provided inside the inner cylinder 2Y. The peripheral structure of the outer cylinder 2X here is the same as that of the above-described embodiment. Further, although FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which one antenna 5 and one target holding portion 4 are provided inside the inner cylinder 2Y, a plurality of antennas 5 and target holding portions 4 may be provided. ..
With such a configuration, since the target holding portion 4 and the antenna 5 are also provided on the inner cylinder 2Y, the processing speed can be further improved, and the inside of the inner cylinder 2Y becomes the outside of the vacuum container 2. Therefore, the maintainability can be guaranteed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, the moving mechanism 3 may be provided at a plurality of locations in the vacuum container 2. Here, each of the plurality of moving mechanisms 3 rotates the object W to be processed, and these are arranged around the center of the vacuum vessel 2 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction.

Further, the moving mechanism 3 is not limited to a mechanism for rotating the object to be processed W, and may be, for example, a mechanism for transporting the object to be processed W to be processed in the horizontal direction, or the object to be processed W to be processed. May be reciprocally scanned on the same plane.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

100 ・ ・ ・ Sputtering device W ・ ・ ・ Object 2 ・ ・ ・ Vacuum container 3 ・ ・ ・ Movement mechanism 31 ・ ・ ・ Support base 32 ・ ・ ・ Motor 4 ・ ・ ・ Target holding part T ・ ・ ・ Target 5 ・・ ・ Antenna 5a ・ ・ ・ Feeding end 5b ・ ・ ・ Termination part 6 ・ ・ ・ Bias power supply 7 ・ ・ ・ Insulation part 8 ・ ・ ・ Target bias power supply 9 ・ ・ ・ High frequency power supply 91 ・ ・ ・ Matcher 10 ・ ・・ Dielectric window 11 ・ ・ ・ Heater 2s ・ ・ ・ Recessed space 21 ・ ・ ・ Side wall 2a ・ ・ ・ Main wall 2b ・ ・ ・ Standing wall

Claims (6)

A sputtering device that sputters a target using plasma to form a film on an object to be processed.
A vacuum container that is evacuated and
A target holding portion that holds the target in the vacuum vessel, and a target holding portion.
A moving mechanism that moves the object to be processed during film formation with respect to the target,
A sputtering apparatus provided outside the vacuum vessel and provided with an antenna for generating plasma in the vacuum vessel. The vacuum container has a tubular shape,
The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism rotationally moves the object to be processed around an axis parallel to the axial direction of the vacuum vessel. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the antenna and the target extend along the axial direction of the vacuum vessel. The target holding portions are provided at a plurality of locations along the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum container.
The sputtering apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the antennas are provided at a plurality of locations corresponding to the target holding portions outside the vacuum vessel. The vacuum vessel has a recessed space in which the side wall is recessed outward.
The sputtering apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the target holding portion holds the target in the recessed space. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recessed space has a tapered shape that expands toward the center of the vacuum vessel.

Images