The present invention relates to a catalytic chemical vapor deposition device (catalytic CVD device) for breaking down a source gas and forming a predetermined thin film on the surface of a substrate, and a deposition method and a surface treatment method for a catalyst using the device.
Devices using a conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method have been used to deposit amorphous silicon (a-Si) film and polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) film. The plasma CVD (PCVD) is especially popular because of its high throughput. When the PCVD method is used to deposit a-Si film, plasma is generated using high frequency at a gas pressure from 10 to 100 Pa, and the product generated in the plasma is deposited to form a film. A method that does not use plasma has recently been developed in which a catalyst maintained at a high temperature is placed inside a chamber and the action of the catalyst is used to deposit film. This method is known as the catalytic CVD (cat-CVD) method.
In a CVD method using a catalyst (referred to below as the catalytic CVD method), a film is formed at a sufficient rate despite the temperature of the substrate being lower than in a conventional thermal CVD method. Therefore, it is a very promising low-temperature process. Because plasma is not used, there are no problems such as damage to substrates due to plasma. By changing the type of gas introduced to the system, the method can be used not only with Si, but also to form diamond thin films and protective films for electronic devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Forming a boride layer on the surface of tantalum (Ta) used as a catalyst has been proposed in order to extend the life of the catalyst used in the catalyst CVD method (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Because the boride layer formed on the surface of the tantalum wire is harder than metallic tantalum, use as the catalyst of tantalum wire, on the surface of which is formed a boride layer, can reduce thermal extension, improve mechanical strength, and extend the life of the catalyst.
Patent Document 1: Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-108417
Patent Document 2: Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-300793
However, a catalyst with an even longer life is desired from the standpoint of improving productivity.
The present invention provides a configuration for a deposition device using the catalytic CVD method which reduces problems associated with extension of the catalyst and is superior in terms of running costs and productivity.
The present invention provides a deposition method using a catalytic chemical vapor deposition device, comprising: a chamber which can maintain reduced interior pressure; a source gas introduction route for introducing a predetermined source gas into the chamber; a catalyst of tantalum wire having a boride layer on the surface and provided inside the chamber so as to allow the source gas introduced via the source gas introduction route to pass by and come into contact with the surface of the catalyst; a gas introduction route for introducing boron-containing gas to the chamber for the reformation of the boride layer; and a power supply unit for applying energy to the catalyst to maintain the catalyst at a predetermined temperature, wherein the deposition method comprises: a boronization step of introducing the boron-containing gas from the gas introduction route, which is used to reintroduce the gas for forming the boride layer, while heating the catalyst for re-boronization of the surface of the boride layer of the catalyst and a deposition step of using the re-boronized catalyst to form a film on the surface of a substrate loaded into the chamber by introducing the source gas into the chamber from the source gas introduction route while heating the catalyst, and discharging the substrate from the chamber.
The present invention also provides a catalytic chemical vapor deposition device, comprising: a chamber which can maintain reduced interior pressure; a source gas introduction route for introducing a predetermined source gas into the chamber to form semiconductor that contains no boron; a catalyst of tantalum wire having a boride layer on the surface and provided inside the chamber so as to allow the source gas introduced via the source gas introduction route to pass by and come into contact with the surface of the catalyst; a gas introduction route for introducing boron-containing gas to the chamber for the reformation of the boride layer; a power supply unit for applying energy to the catalyst to maintain the catalyst at a predetermined temperature; and a control unit for controlling the gas introduced into the chamber.
In addition, the present invention provides a boride surface treatment method for a catalyst using a catalytic chemical vapor deposition device, comprising: a chamber which can maintain reduced interior pressure; a gas introduction route for introducing boron-containing gas to the chamber for the formation of the boride layer; a catalyst provided inside the chamber so as to allow the boron-containing gas introduced via the gas introduction route for formation of the boride layer to pass by and come into contact with the surface of the catalyst; a power supply unit for applying energy to the catalyst to maintain the catalyst at a predetermined temperature; and a control unit for controlling the gas introduced into the chamber, wherein the boride surface treatment method comprises the step of: heating the catalyst using the power supply unit while maintaining reduced pressure inside the chamber and introducing the boron-containing gas from the gas introduction route for reformation of the boride layer to treat the surface of the catalyst with boride.
The present invention is able to extend the life of the catalyst and improve productivity.
The following is a detailed explanation of an embodiment with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or similar components are denoted by the same reference numbers and the explanation of these components is not repeated in order to avoid redundancy.
The device shown in
The source gas is supplied from the source gas supplying unit 32 to the gas introduction route 3 via a valve 34 and a conduit pipe 33a. When the catalyst 4 (catalyst wire 41) is treated with boride, diborane gas is supplied from the diborane gas supplying unit 36 to the gas introduction route 3 via the valve 34 and another conduit pipe 33b. As shown in
The chamber 1 is an airtight vacuum chamber having a gate value (not shown). The exhaust system 11 has a multistage vacuum pump, such as a combination of a turbomolecular pump and a rotary pump, which is used to purge the chamber 1.
As shown in
As shown in
Both ends of each catalyst wire 41 arranged at the top are connected to an introduction holder 42. The introduction holder 42 is a wire or rod that is thicker than the catalyst wire 41. The introduction holder 42 is made of a high melting point metal similar to the catalyst wires 41.
The distance (L in
As shown in
A vacuum seal (not shown) is provided between each holding plate 44 and the outer surface of the upper wall portion of the chamber 1 to create an airtight seal for each holding plate 44 around the opening 100. Each holding plate 44 is mounted on the upper portion of the chamber using screws. When heat radiating from the chamber 1 through the holding plates 44 becomes a problem, a heat insulating material is provided between the holding plates 44 and the chamber 1.
As shown in
Having the same number of power supplies 51 as the number of catalyst wires 41 is not an essential precondition. For example, the catalyst wires 41 can be connected in series and a control element (such as variable resistance) can be provided to control each circuit. Here, the number of power supplies 51 is less than the number of catalyst wires 41.
Tantalum wire 41a with a boride layer 41b formed on the surface is harder than tantalum wire without a boride layer. Therefore, the use of tantalum wire 41 with a boride layer 41b formed on the surface as a catalyst wire 41 can reduce the extension of the catalyst wire 41 due to a rise in temperature.
As shown in
As shown in
Each gas introduction head 31 has a plurality of gas discharging holes (not shown) on the side surface opposite the substrate 9. As shown in
As the deposition process is repeated, each catalyst wire 41 expands downward as shown in
In the present invention, the temperature is kept above 600° C. When the cumulative film-forming operating time exceeds a predetermined amount of time, the boride layer on the surface of catalyst wire 41 is treated with more boride. In the present embodiment, a supply line is provided in the chamber 1 for diborane gas which is not required to form intrinsic a-Si film. The diborane gas is selectively supplied only when the catalyst wires 41 are to be treated with more boride. The diborane gas is supplied to the gas introduction route 3 from a compressed gas cylinder 36 containing diborane gas via the valve 34 and the conduit pipe 33b, and the diborane gas is introduced to the chamber 1 from the gas introduction head 31.
During boride treatment, the supply of source gas is stopped, the diborane gas is supplied, and electrical current is applied through the catalyst wires 41. The vacuum pump is activated to create a vacuum inside the chamber 1 at a predetermined vacuum level (for example, 1 Pa or less). Next, the diborane gas is introduced to the chamber 1 from the diborane gas supplying unit 36, and the control device 8 is turned on to flow the electrical current through each catalyst wire 41 to attain a temperature at which diborane gas breaks down (for example, a temperature above 1,700° C.). The diborane gas is supplied at a B2H6/H2 (2%) flow rate from 100 sccm to 1,000 sccm, the pressure is maintained from 0.5 Pa to 10 Pa, and electrical currents are conducted through the wires for anywhere from several minutes to several dozen minutes.
At this time, the catalyst wires 41 are treated with boride and the surface changes from the state shown in
The following is an explanation of the operation of the deposition device of the present embodiment. A substrate holder 2 holding a plurality of substrate 9 is loaded into the chamber 1.
The gate value of the chamber 1 is closed, the exhaust system 11 reduces the pressure inside the chamber 1 to a predetermined level, the gas introduction route 3 is activated, and the source gas is introduced to the chamber 1 at a predetermined flow rate. In other words, the source gas is supplied from the gas discharge holes in each gas introduction head 31, and is dispersed inside the chamber 1. At this time, the flow regulators 35 provided in the gas introduction route 3 are controlled by the control device 8 so that the flow rate of source gas introduced into the chamber 1 from each gas introduction head 31 can be controlled individually. The exhaust system 11 in the chamber 1 has an exhaust rate regulator to control the exhaust rate and reach the predetermined vacuum level inside the chamber 1. The source gas is introduced from the source gas supplying unit 32 into the chamber 1. In the present embodiment, silane (SiH4) gas and hydrogen gas (H2) constitute the source gas, and silicon film (Si) is formed on the surface of the substrate 9. More specifically, the source gas is supplied to the substrates 9.
Electric current is supplied from the power supplies 51 of the power supply unit 5 to each catalyst wire 41 constituting the catalyst 4, and each catalyst wire 41 is raised to a predetermined temperature. The source gas supplied from each gas introduction head 31 breaks down when making contact with or passing over the surface of the catalyst wires 41, producing a reaction product. This product reaches the surface of a substrate 9. As this process is repeated, a thin film based on the source gas grows on the surface of the substrate. More specifically, the substrate 9 is a monocrystal silicon substrate, the source gas is supplied to the substrate 9, and an intrinsic a-Si film is grown.
When this state has been maintained for a predetermined amount of time and a thin film has been formed to have a predetermined thickness, the operation of the gas introduction route 3 and the power supply unit 5 is stopped. After the chamber 1 has been purged again by the exhaust system 11, an inert gas is introduced, and the chamber 1 is raised to atmospheric pressure. When the chamber 1 has been raised to atmospheric pressure, the gas value is opened, and the substrates 9 are removed from the chamber 1.
As the deposition operation is repeated, each catalyst wire 41 expands downward as explained above. In the present embodiment, the catalyst wires 41 are subjected to boride treatment to prevent decomposition of the catalyst wires 41 during continued use, hold down the rate of extension of the catalyst wires 41, stabilize film quality, and extend the maintenance cycle of the deposition device.
When the catalyst wires 41 have been treated with more boride, the substrate holder 2 holding a plurality of substrate 9 is loaded in the chamber 1 again, and the boride-treated catalyst wires 41 are used to deposit film on the surface of the substrates 9. The deposition of film using the boride-treated catalyst wires 41 is repeated for a predetermined amount of time at a temperature above 600° C.
Next, the extension of catalyst wires with a boride layer on the surface which were treated again with boride, and the extension of catalyst wires with a boride layer on the surface which were left untreated, were determined after continuous use.
The results are shown in
In
After the embodiment has been treated again with boride, the rate of extension, which had been 1.03, falls to 1.02 as shown in
The following is a specific example of deposition in which an intrinsic a-Si (amorphous silicon) film is formed. The source gas is monosilane at a flow rate from 10 sccm to 500 sccm mixed and introduced with hydrogen gas at a flow rate from 20 sccm to 1,000 sccm. When the temperature of the catalyst 4 is maintained at a temperature from 1,500° C. to 2,200° C. and the chamber 1 is maintained at a pressure from 0.1 Pa to 10 Pa, a-Si film can be formed at a deposition rate from 30 to 250 Å per minute. When the instrinsic a-Si film is deposited, the boride on the surface of the catalyst 4 is supplied to the substrate 9 along with the source gas. Therefore, a trace amount of boron is added to the a-Si film deposited on the substrate 9. This a-Si film can be used effectively as the intrinsic a-Si film in a solar cell.
A supply line for diborane gas is not needed by the deposition device of the present embodiment when the intrinsic a-Si film is being formed. The diborane gas is selectively supplied when the catalyst wires are to be treated again with boride. The deposition device of the present embodiment can be applied to a chamber for depositing p-type a-Si film or to a chamber for depositing n-type a-Si film. In the case of a chamber for depositing p-type a-Si film, the boride treatment is performed using the supply line for diborane gas provided in the chamber. In the case of a chamber for depositing n-type a-Si film, a supply line for diborane gas is not usually provided. However, diborane gas may be selectively supplied to perform boride treatment. The boron-containing gas used in the boride treatment can be any gas containing boron broken down by the catalyst. In other words, a gas other than diborane gas can be used.
The boride treatment is effective immediately after installation, after a predetermined number of deposition operations, and after a certain amount of time has elapsed. The thickness of the boride layer on the surface immediately after boride treatment is believed to change. If the deposition conditions are adjusted to take into account this thickness, stable film quality can be expected.
After the boride treatment, the treatment can be performed several times on dummy substrate in order to obtain intrinsic a-Si film.
When the catalyst wire 41 is U-shaped, both ends can be attached to an electric current introducing unit on the bottom, and the curved portion at the top can be hung on a hook. However, when fixed on the bottom, the wire expands horizontally due to thermal extension. Therefore, a configuration in which both ends are at the top is preferred. The wire does not have to have a U-shape. It can have a U shape connected on the side, or a rounded w or m shape. The configuration of the device is not limited to the embodiment described above. Other configurations can be used.
In the embodiment described above, a-Si film was deposited. However, the device of the present invention can be used to coat other types of thin film, such as silicon nitride film or polysilicon film. The substrate 9 on which film is deposited may be a wafer used to create a semiconductor device or a liquid-crystal substrate used to create a liquid crystal display. When the substrate 9 has a large area, the substrate 9 may be loaded directly into a chamber 1 without using substrate holders 2.
The embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes only in every respect and do not impose limitations on the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the claims and not by the description of the embodiments, and includes everything equivalent in meaning to the scope of the claims and all modifications therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-045928 | Mar 2011 | JP | national |
This is a continuation of International Application PCT/JP2012/054080, with an international filing date of Feb. 21, 2012, filed by applicant, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2012/054080 | Feb 2012 | US |
Child | 14012033 | US |