KR101775361B1 - Plasma process apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma processing apparatus having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes for discharging a capacitively coupled plasma linearly arranged in two rows in a horizontal direction on an upper portion of a chamber, the present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus capable of expanding more than a scale and capable of high-density thin film deposition with excellent process stability.

Description

PLASMA PROCESS APPARATUS

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma processing apparatus, a plasma processing apparatus, and a plasma processing apparatus. More particularly, by arranging a plurality of capacitively coupled electrodes for discharging capacitively coupled plasma linearly in two rows in the horizontal direction, the present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus capable of expanding more than a scale and capable of high-density thin film deposition with excellent process stability.

A plasma is a highly ionized gas containing the same number of positive ions and electrons. Plasma discharges are used in gas excitation to generate active gases including ions, free radicals, atoms, and molecules. The active gas is widely used in various fields and is typically used in a variety of semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, deposition, cleaning, and ashing.

Plasma sources for generating plasma are various, and examples thereof include capacitive coupled plasma and inductive coupled plasma using a radio frequency.

Inductively coupled plasma sources can easily increase the ion density with increasing radio frequency power supply, and thus ion impact is relatively low, which is known to be suitable for obtaining high density plasma. Thus, inductively coupled plasma sources are commonly used to obtain high density plasma. Inductively coupled plasma sources are typically developed using a RF antenna or a transformer coupled plasma (also referred to as a transformer coupled plasma). Techniques are being developed to improve the characteristics of plasma by adding electromagnets or permanent magnets thereto or adding capacitive coupling electrodes, and to improve reproducibility and controllability.

Capacitively coupled plasma sources have the advantage that they have higher capacity for process control than other plasma sources because of their accurate capacitive coupling and ion control capability. On the other hand, because the energy of the radio frequency power source is almost exclusively coupled to the plasma through capacitive coupling, the plasma ion density can only be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the capacitively coupled radio frequency power.

However, an increase in radio frequency power increases the ion impact energy. As a result, in order to prevent damage due to the ion bombardment, the radio frequency power supplied is limited. Also, since the radio frequency power supplied to the electrode is not uniform, uniform plasma generation becomes difficult.

Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1093601 (registered on December 07, 2011)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma processing apparatus and a plasma processing method thereof, in which a plurality of capacitively coupled electrodes for discharging a capacitively coupled plasma are linearly arranged in two rows in a horizontal direction, The present invention provides a plasma processing apparatus capable of expanding more than a 5G scale without occurrence of the plasma processing apparatus, and having excellent process stability and layer uniformity.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable of significantly increasing the number of gas injection holes formed on the bottom surface of the electrode body in the form of a square plate, thereby improving uniformity of gas distribution

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable of increasing the power density while preventing the generation of plasma by removing the plasma from the outside of the source space by providing a sealed portion of the vacuum portion along the periphery of the upper side of the electrode body in the shape of the square plate, .

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable of maximizing the surface area of the square shower head and the edge portion thereof contacting the rear surface within a range not blocking the gas injection hole to maximize the thermal conductivity of the electrode.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma processing apparatus comprising: a capacitive coupling electrode assembly having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes arranged in a linear direction in one direction to discharge capacitively coupled plasma; A power splitter for receiving power from a power source and distributing power to each of the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes; A substrate transfer section having a support roller for transferring in an in-line mode or a roll-to-roll mode into the plasma region; And a chamber for processing the substrate in the internal discharge space, the chamber being provided with the capacitive coupling electrode and the substrate transfer unit.

Here, the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes of the capacitive coupling electrode assembly may be linearly arranged in two rows in one direction on the upper portion of the chamber.

In addition, the capacitive coupling electrode may be a showerhead-shaped electrode body having a rectangular plate shape; A pipe shaped gas supply path formed in the electrode body and connected to the power splitter injecting a process gas and supplying electric power to the electrode body; And a plurality of gas injection holes provided on a lower surface of the electrode body for injecting a process gas into the chamber.

In addition, a water-cooled cooling block is preferably provided on the gas supply path to control the internal overheating.

Further, it is preferable that a vacuum portion is further provided on the electrode body of the rectangular plate.

Further, it is preferable that the gas supply path is formed of a conductive material.

According to the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention described above, a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes for discharging capacitively coupled plasma are linearly arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction on the upper part of the chamber, scale and high-density thin film deposition as well as low-temperature, high-speed and high-density thin film deposition.

By removing the ferrite on the upper side of the conventional electrode body and forming the vacuum, it is possible to increase the power density while preventing generation of plasma outside the source space without causing deterioration by the magnet.

Also, since the electrode body is formed in a square plate shape, the number of the gas injection holes formed on the lower surface of the electrode body can be greatly increased, and the uniformity of the gas distribution can be improved.

In addition, there is also an effect that the thermal conductivity of the electrode can be maximized by maximally extending the edge portion of the square shower head and the rear surface thereof in a range not blocking the gas injection hole.

In addition, a water-cooled cooling block is further provided at an upper portion of each of the capacitive coupling electrodes to control the internal overheating.

Also, there is an advantage that the capacitive coupling electrode assembly having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes linearly arranged in two rows in the transverse direction on the upper part of the chamber can be applied to both the in-line scheme and the roll-to-roll scheme.

1 is a schematic view of a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic perspective views of chambers showing a state in which the capacitive coupling electrodes of FIG. 1 are arranged in two rows in a transverse direction. FIG.
3 is a view showing a shape of a capacitive coupling electrode of a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the chamber showing the state in which the capacitive coupling electrodes of Fig. 1 are linearly arranged in the lateral direction.
5 is a view schematically showing a plasma processing apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in many other forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are to be considered in all respects as merely illustrative and not restrictive.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms.

The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, .

On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In the present application, the terms "comprises", "having", "having", and the like are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, components, Steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and are to be interpreted as either ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present application Do not.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in order that the present invention may be easily understood by those skilled in the art. .

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B are a schematic perspective view of a chamber showing a state in which the capacitive coupling electrodes of FIG. 1 are arranged in a two- admit.

As shown, the plasma processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a chamber 110, a capacitive coupling electrode assembly (not shown) having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes arranged linearly in two rows in the horizontal direction on the chamber 110 120, a power splitter 130, and a substrate transfer unit 140.

The chamber 110 includes a capacitive coupling electrode assembly 120 having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 121 arranged in a two-row linear array in a lateral direction to generate a plasma with a plasma discharge space therein. And a substrate transfer unit 140 for transferring the substrate 141 are provided.

Although not shown in the drawing, the chamber 110 is provided with a gas inlet through which a process gas is supplied from the outside of the chamber 110. The chamber 110 is provided with a gas exhaust port connected to the exhaust pump 114 to maintain the inside of the chamber 110 in a vacuum state to perform a plasma process and maintain the inside of the chamber 110 at atmospheric pressure, .

The chamber 110 may be made of a metal material such as aluminum, stainless steel, or copper. Or a coated metal such as anodized aluminum or nickel plated aluminum. Or a refractory metal. Alternatively, the chamber 110 may be wholly or partially fabricated from an electrically insulating material such as quartz, ceramic, or the like. As such, the chamber 110 may be fabricated of any material suitable for the intended plasma process to be performed. The structure of the chamber 110 may have a suitable structure for uniform generation of the plasma, for example, a circular structure or a rectangular structure, and any other type of structure. The substrate 141 may include various substrates for plasma processing.

The capacitive coupling electrode assembly 120 includes a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 121 linearly arranged in two horizontal rows in the process space of the chamber 110. The capacitive coupling electrode 121 receives power from the power splitter 130 and discharges capacitively coupled plasma into the chamber 110.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 120 may include 20 capacitive coupling electrodes 21 linearly arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction at an upper portion of the chamber 110 Scalability beyond the 5G scale becomes possible.

The plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 121 are spaced apart from a plurality of cylindrical support rollers 142 that support the substrate 141 in the form of surface electrodes and are arranged on the upper side.

The plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 121 linearly arranged in the two rows are disposed on the substrate 141 supported on the plurality of support rollers 142 so that the plasma discharged by each capacitive coupling electrode 121 is transferred onto the substrate The plasma processing efficiency for the substrate 141 can be increased.

Meanwhile, an insulator 128 may be provided between the capacitive coupling electrodes 121.

The power splitter 130 distributes and supplies a current induced in the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 121 of the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 120. At this time, the currents distributed in the power splitter 130 maximize the discharge effect by providing the out-of-phase currents to the adjacent capacitive coupling electrodes 121, thereby discharging a uniform and large-area high-density plasma.

The substrate transferring part 140 transfers the substrate 141 into the plasma discharge space from the inside or the outside of the chamber 110 in an inline manner and serves as a structure for supporting the substrate 141 during plasma processing.

Here, the support roller 142 may be provided with a heater as a heating means for applying heat to the substrate 141 to heat the substrate 141.

In the illustrated example, one chamber 110 is exemplified, but the chamber may be configured in a plurality of in-line loading chambers, a plurality of chambers, and an unloading chamber.

In this case, the loading chamber receives the substrate 141, loads the substrate 141 for plasma processing into a plurality of neighboring chambers, and finally unloads the plasma-processed substrate 141 to the unloading chamber.

In this case, a substrate transfer robot (not shown) may be further provided as a transfer unit between the loading chamber, the plurality of chambers, and the unloading chambers. The transfer robot may be a conveying unit for supporting the substrate 141 and moving the substrate between the chambers. The belt can be used to carry out the work continuously.

Meanwhile, the controller 150 controls the driving unit 152 for driving the driving mechanism for controlling the current amount of the power splitter 130. The controller 150 controls the driving unit 152 to perform impedance matching. The controller 150 and the driver 152 control each of the plurality of power splitters 130.

The plasma processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention provides a capacitive coupling electrode assembly 120 having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 21 linearly arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction on the upper portion of the chamber 110, It is possible to expand not only the scale of 5G without interference, but also the high-density thin film deposition becomes possible. Also, by supplying the induced current of the opposite phase through the power splitter 30 to the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 120, it is possible to discharge a high-density uniform plasma. In addition, the discharge efficiency of the process gas increases, thereby preventing formation of unnecessary particles. In addition, the substrate 141 can be plasma-processed in a large amount at low cost in a roll-to-roll system. Also, the plasma processing process is stable and the parasitic discharge can be minimized.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a shape of a capacitive coupling electrode of a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a chamber showing a state in which capacitive coupling electrodes of FIG. 1 are linearly arranged in a lateral direction.

As shown in the drawing, the capacitive coupling electrode 121 applied to the plasma processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an electrode body 122 having a substantially square plate shape in the shape of a showerhead; Shaped gas supply path connected to a power splitter 130 which is vertically formed at the center of the upper side of the electrode body 122 and is injected with a process gas and formed of a conductive material and supplies power to the electrode body 122. [ (123); And a plurality of gas injection holes 124 provided on the lower surface of the electrode body 122 for injecting the process gas into the chamber 110.

A gas inlet 125 is integrally formed at an upper end of the pipe-shaped gas supply passage 123 so that the process gas can be supplied through a gas supply source (not shown).

Further, a water cooling type cooling block 126 is installed on the pipe-shaped gas supply path 123 to effectively control the internal overheating.

In addition, a vacuum 127, which is hermetically sealed to a predetermined size along the periphery of the upper surface of the electrode body 122 in the square plate shape, is provided to remove the plasma, thereby preventing the generation of plasma outside the source space, .

The electrode body 122 may be formed in a square plate shape to greatly increase the number of the gas injection holes 124 formed in the bottom surface of the electrode body 122, thereby improving the uniformity of the gas distribution.

In this case, the electrode body 122 of the square plate has a shape in which the cut-off amount of the square shower head and the edge portion thereof contacting the rear surface thereof is reduced within a range not blocking the gas injection hole, It is preferable to maximize the thermal conductivity of the electrode.

The gas supply path 123 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown) as a path through which the process gas can be supplied into the electrode body 122. The process gas supplied to the gas supply path 123 is supplied into the chamber 110 through the plurality of gas injection holes 124 on the lower surface of the electrode body 122. Here, the gas supply path 123 is formed of a conductive material and connected to a power splitter 130 that supplies power to the electrode body 122.

5 is a view schematically showing a plasma processing apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, there is a difference in that a transfer method of a substrate processed in a plasma maare region is a roll-to-roll method in which a substrate is transferred in a curved shape instead of an in-line method as shown in FIG.

5, the power splitter 130 and the controller 150 of the plasma processing apparatus 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the other configurations are the roll-to- A chamber 210 for a roll roll, a capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220 for a roll roll, and a substrate transfer unit 240 for roll roll.

A plasma discharge space is formed in the roll-to-roll chamber 210, and a capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220 for a roll-roll for generating a capacitively coupled plasma and a substrate for roll- 240 are provided. The chamber 210 is provided with a gas inlet through which a process gas is supplied from outside the chamber 210, though not shown in the figure. The chamber 210 is provided with a gas exhaust port connected to the exhaust pump 214 to maintain the inside of the chamber 210 in a vacuum state to perform a plasma process and maintain the inside of the chamber 210 at atmospheric pressure, .

The flexible substrate 141 is a flexible substrate for a roll-to-roll system, and includes various substrates for plasma processing.

Referring to FIG. 5, the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220 includes a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 221. The capacitive coupling electrode 221 receives power from the power splitter 130 and discharges capacitively coupled plasma into the chamber 210. The plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 221 are spaced apart from the cylindrical support roller 242 supporting the flexible substrate 241 in the form of surface electrodes and disposed along the circumferential direction of the support roller 242. Or a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 221 may be arranged in parallel to form a ceiling of the chamber 210 in the form of a surface electrode. The capacitive coupling electrode 221 is disposed along the circumference of the supporting roller 242 so that the plasma discharged by the capacitive coupling electrode 221 to the periphery of the supporting roller 242 is concentrated so that the plasma processing efficiency . The arrangement of the plasma capacitive coupling electrodes 121 can be arranged in various forms separately from the example shown in the drawings.

The power splitter 130 distributes and supplies a current induced in the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 221 of the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220. At this time, the current distributed in the power splitter 130 maximizes the discharge effect by providing currents of out-of-phase to neighboring capacitive coupling electrodes 221, thereby discharging a uniform high-density plasma with a large area.

The substrate transfer unit 240 transfers the flexible substrate 241 into the plasma discharge space from the inside or the outside of the chamber 210 in a roll-to-roll manner and supports the flexible substrate 241 during plasma processing. The substrate transfer unit 240 is provided on both sides of a support roller 242 for supporting the flexible substrate 241 and first and second guide rollers 246 and 248 for transferring the flexible substrate 241 ). The flexible substrate 241 supplied from the supply roll 244 is supported by a cylindrical support roller 242 and is plasma-processed by the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220 and wound into a winding roll 249. Here, the support roller 242 may be provided with a heater as heating means for applying heat to the flexible substrate 241, so that the flexible substrate 241 can be heated.

The controller 150 controls a driving unit 152 that drives a driving mechanism for controlling the amount of current of the power splitter 130. [ The controller 150 controls the driving unit 152 to perform impedance matching.

The plasma processing apparatus 200 of the roll-to-roll type according to the present invention is also provided with a capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220 having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 221 arranged in two rows in a transverse direction, The capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220 itself has basically the same structure as that of FIG. 3 except that it forms a curved surface so as to be actually applied to a roll-to-roll method. Of course, a curved insulator 223 is provided between the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes 221.

In addition, since current does not flow through the supporting roller 242 supporting the flexible substrate 241, a current does not flow to the flexible substrate 241, and plasma damage can be minimized. Also, a high-density uniform plasma can be discharged by supplying the induced current of the opposite phase through the power splitter 130 to the capacitive coupling electrode assembly 220. In addition, the discharge efficiency of the process gas increases, thereby preventing formation of unnecessary particles. In addition, the flexible substrate 241 can be plasma-processed in a large amount at low cost by the roll-to-roll method. Also, the plasma processing process is stable and the parasitic discharge can be minimized.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the form set forth in the foregoing description. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

100, 200: plasma processing apparatus 110: chamber
120: capacitive coupling electrode assembly
121: capacitive coupling electrode 122: electrode body
123: gas supply path 124: gas injection hole
125: gas inlet 126: water-cooled cooling block
127: Jean's study
130: power splitter
140: substrate transfer unit 141: substrate
144: Support roller
150: controller 152:
162: wire

Claims (8)

A capacitive coupling electrode assembly having a plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes linearly arranged in one direction for discharging capacitively coupled plasma;
A power splitter for receiving power from a power source and distributing power to each of the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes;
A substrate transfer section having a support roller for transferring in an in-line mode or a roll-to-roll mode into the plasma region; And
And a chamber in which the capacitive coupling electrode and the substrate transfer section are provided to process the substrate in the internal discharge space,
Wherein the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes are formed in a showerhead shape and have a rectangular plate-shaped electrode body; A pipe-shaped gas supply path formed vertically in the center of the upper side of the electrode body and connected to a power splitter injected with a process gas and formed of a conductive material to supply electric power to the electrode body; And a plurality of gas injection holes provided on a bottom surface of the electrode body for injecting a process gas into the chamber, the plurality of gas injection holes communicating with the pipe-shaped gas supply passage, and an insulator is provided between the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes And,
And a water cooling type cooling block is further provided on the pipe shaped gas supply path to control overheating of the inside of the pipe type gas supply path and a sealed portion having a predetermined size along the circumference of the upper side of the electrode body of the square plate,
Wherein the electrode body of the rectangular plate increases the surface area of the edge portion within a range that does not block the plurality of gas injection holes.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of capacitive coupling electrodes of the capacitive coupling electrode assembly are linearly arranged in two rows in one direction at an upper portion of the chamber.
delete delete delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the currents distributed in the power splitter provide out-of-phase currents to neighboring capacitive coupling electrodes.

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