Referring to
The QWOT stacked film structure is formed by alternately stacking a dielectric material layer of a high refractive index and a dielectric material layer of a low refractive index on top of each other, and the dielectric material layer of higher refractive index and the dielectric material layer of low refractive index are respectively deposited with QWOT thickness.
The number of alternately stacking the dielectric material layer of high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of low refractive index conform to the number of stacking designed for embodying an optical characteristic required by optical devices.
The thickness of each layer comprising the QWOT stacked film structure may be controlled by the real time optical thickness control method using reflection/transmission.
As apparent from the foregoing, e.g., in a case of an optical multilayer thin film based on the QWOT, the transmittance decreases as the thin film thickness increases, and an inflection point (singular point) appears where the decreasing transmittance increases around the QWOT.
The inflection point corresponds to a value where a differential value mathematically becomes ‘0’ at a transmittance curve. Therefore, it should be noted that a thin film thickness of the QWOT can be controlled if a point is read where the differential value becomes “0” at the transmittance curve.
Successively, the deposition rate of the QWOT stacked film structure is analyzed (S11). In other words, respective deposition rates of the dielectric material layer of the high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of the low refractive index are analyzed in the QWOT stacked film structure, where the deposition rates are computed using the number of stacking and deposited times of the dielectric material layer of the high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of the low refractive index.
Then, a first non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed on the QWOT stacked film structure using the analyzed deposition rates (S12). In other words, the first non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed on an upper surface of the QWOT stacked film structure using the analyzed deposition rates of the dielectric material layer of the high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of the low refractive index. The first non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed by alternately stacking the dielectric material layer of the high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of the low refractive index, where the dielectric material layer of the high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of the low refractive index are respectively formed with a predetermined thickness of the non-QWOT thickness.
The number of alternate stacks of the dielectric material layer of high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of low refractive index is determined by deposited state and performance of a depositor.
Successively, a first thin film thickness control layer is formed on the first non-QWOT stacked film structure (S13). The first thin film thickness control layer is formed by a dielectric material layer having a high refractive index or a dielectric material layer having a low refractive index, and has a thickness at least twice the QWOT and integer times the QWOT.
Now, a deposition rate of the first thin film thickness control layer is analyzed (S14).
The first thin film thickness control layer is formed with a thickness corresponding to integer times of the QWOT, which results in appearance of the inflection point, so the thin film thickness can be controlled thereby.
Furthermore, because the first thin film thickness control layer is formed with a thickness twice the QWOT or more, two or more inflection points appear, by which a deposition rate of the first thin film thickness control layer can be analyzed.
In other words, the thickness of the first thin film thickness control layer can be known by a point where the inflection point appears at a transmittance curve, i.e., where a differential value becomes “0” at the transmittance curve, and a deposition rate of the first thin film thickness control layer can be computed by a deposition time between two inflection points.
The reason of forming the first thin film thickness control layer and analyzing the deposition rate again is to prevent the optical thin film from deviating from an error allowance rate when the time of alternately stacking the dielectric material layer of the high refractive index and the dielectric material layer of the low refractive index in the first non-QWOT stacked film structure increases.
In other words, the reason is that, although the first non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed using the deposition rate of the QWOT stacked film structure, the possibility of generating errors increases as the number of alternate stacking increases in the first non-QWOT stacked film structure, such that the stacking is to be made only within the error allowance rate of the optical films, and thereafter, a second non-QWOT stacked film structure is to be formed using the deposition rate analyzed through the first thin film thickness control layer.
Successively, the first thin film thickness control layer is formed thereon with a second non-QWOT stacked film structure (S15).
The second non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed by alternately stacking a dielectric material layer having a high refractive index or a dielectric material layer having a low refractive index, on top of each other, as in the first non-QWOT stacked film structure, but is formed with a thickness as thick as a pre-designed thickness using the deposition rate analyzed when the first thin film thickness control layer is formed.
Then, the second non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed thereon with a second thin film thickness control layer (S16). Although the second thin film thickness control layer is formed with a dielectric material layer of a high refractive index or a dielectric material layer of a lower refractive index, the second thin film thickness control layer is formed with a dielectric material layer having a refractive index different from that of the first thin film thickness control layer.
In other words, if the first thin film thickness control layer is formed with a dielectric material having a high refractive index, the second thin film thickness control layer is formed with a dielectric material having a low refractive index, and if the first thin film thickness control layer is formed with a dielectric material having a low refractive index, the second thin film thickness control layer is formed with a dielectric material having a high refractive index.
Furthermore, the second thin film thickness control layer is formed with a thickness corresponding to integer times of the QWOT, e.g, with a thickness at least twice the QWOT or more.
Successively, a deposition rate of the second thin film thickness control layer is analyzed (S17), and a third non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed on the second thin film thickness control layer using the analyzed deposition rate (S18).
Thereafter, a thin film thickness control layer is formed to analyze a deposition rate, and formation of non-QWOT stacked film structures is repeatedly implemented until forming an nth non-QWOT stacked film structure, using the analyzed deposition rate (S19).
According to the present implementation as noted above, optical thin films (i.e., a QWOT stacked film structure and thin film thickness control layer) based on the QWOT capable of implementing an excellent thickness control is formed by the real time optical thickness control method using reflection/transmission, a deposition rate is analyzed and non-QWOT stacked film structures are formed using the analyzed deposition rate to fabricate high precision non-QWOT optical multilayer thin films.
In other words, when thin film thickness control layers are formed between the non-QWOT stacked film structure, the thin film thickness control layers are periodically formed between the non-QWOT stacked film structures, where a thickness control layer relative to a dielectric material having a high refractive index and a thickness control layer having a dielectric material having a low refractive index are alternately formed, such that deposition rates relative to the dielectric material having a high refractive index and the dielectric material having a low refractive index can be respectively analyzed.
Referring to
The QWOT stacked film structure (m) is formed by alternately stacking a dielectric material layer having a high refractive index and a dielectric material layer having a low refractive index, where the dielectric material having a high refractive index and the dielectric material having a low refractive index are respectively formed with a QWOT.
The dielectric material having a high refractive index may consist of one of the materials selected from a group of ZrO2, TiO2, Ge and Ta2O5 and the dielectric material having a low refractive index may consist of SiO2 or MgF2.
The number of alternate stacking where the dielectric material having a high refractive index and the dielectric material having a low refractive index are alternately stacked conforms to a designed number for embodying the optical characteristic required by an optical device.
The non-QWOT stacked film structures (n1˜n2) are alternately stacked with a dielectric material layer having a high refractive index and a dielectric material layer having a low refractive index, where the dielectric material layer having a high refractive index and the dielectric material having layer a low refractive index are respectively formed with a QWOT, which is a thickness predetermined for embodying the optical characteristic.
The high refractive index control layers (PH1˜PHn) are intended to provide a standard for deposition rates of the high refractive index material layers of subsequently formed non-QWOT stacked film structures, which are thickness control layers to be used for controlling thin film thicknesses of the subsequently formed non-QWOT stacked film structures.
The high refractive index control layers (PH1˜PHn) may be made of one of the materials selected from a group of ZrO2, TiO2, Ge and Ta2O5, each thickness being integer times of QWOT, preferably at least twice the QWOT.
The low refractive index control layers (PL1˜PLn) are intended to provide a standard for deposition rates of the low refractive index material layers of subsequently formed non-QWOT stacked film structures, which are thickness control layers to be used for controlling thin film thicknesses of the subsequently formed non-QWOT stacked film structures.
The low refractive index control layers (PL1˜PLn) may be made of SiO2 or MgF2, the thickness thereof being integer times of the QWOT, preferably at least twice the QWOT.
The high refractive index control layers (PH1˜PHn) and the low refractive index control layers (PL1˜PLn) are formed in a predetermined period, a periodic interval thereof being determined by deposition state of the non-QWOT stacked film structures (n1˜n2) and performance of a depositor.
Now, referring to
If the thickness control layers are formed as above, the non-QWOT stacked film structures formed on the thickness control layers can be controlled of thickness thereof using each deposition rate of the high refractive index control layers (PH1˜PHn) and the low refractive index control layers (PL1˜PLn).
According to the present implementation, the deposition rate can be analyzed by the QWOT stacked film structures (including the thickness control layers), and thickness of the non-QWOT stacked film structure can be controlled by the analyzed deposition rates to thereby enable to realize the high precision non-QWOT optical thin film structure.
Referring to
The dielectric material (213) having a high refractive index consists of one of the materials selected from a group of ZrO2, TiO2, Ge and Ta2O5 and the dielectric material (216) having a low refractive index consists of SiO2 or MgF2.
Next, the QWOT stacked film structure (210) is formed thereon with a first non-QWOT stacked film structure (220) (
The first QWOT stacked film structure (220) is formed by alternately stacking a dielectric material layer (223) having a high refractive index and a dielectric material layer (226) having a low refractive index, where the dielectric material layer (223) having a high refractive index and the dielectric material (226) having layer a low refractive index are respectively formed with a pre-designed non-QWOT.
The dielectric material layer (223) having a high refractive index and the dielectric material layer (226) having a low refractive index in the first QWOT stacked film structure (220) are deposited with deposition rates of the dielectric material layer (213) having a high refractive index and a dielectric material layer (216) having a low refractive index in the QWOT stacked film structure (210).
In other words, deposition rates of the dielectric material layer (213) having a high refractive index and the dielectric material layer (216) having a low refractive index in the QWOT stacked film structure (210) are analyzed, and the dielectric material layer (223) having a high refractive index and the dielectric material layer (226) having a low refractive index in the first non-QWOT stacked film structure (220) are deposited with a pre-designed thickness using the analyzed deposition rates.
Meanwhile, the number of alternate stacking where the dielectric material layer (223) having a high refractive index and the dielectric material layer (226) having a low refractive index are alternately stacked is determined by deposition state and performance of the depositor. In other words, the number of alternate stacking is adjusted in consideration of the deposition state and the performance of the depositor within an error allowance of the optical thin film.
Successively, the first non-QWOT stacked film structure (220) is formed thereon with a first thin film thickness control layer (230) (
The first thin film thickness control layer (230) is formed by sequentially stacking a high refractive index control layer (231) and a low refractive index control layer (234).
The high refractive index control layer (231) and the low refractive index control layer (234) are formed with a thickness corresponding to integer times the QWOT, e.g, with a thickness at least twice the QWOT or more.
The reason of forming the first thin film thickness control layer (230) is to prevent the optical thin films from deviating from an error allowance rate because the number of alternate stacking is adjusted to allow the non-QWOT stacked film structure (220) to be stacked within an error allowance rate of the optical thin films, and if the stacking of the thin films exceeds the error allowance rate, there is a high likelihood of failing to show the wanted optical characteristics, for example, transmittance band and the like. The reason is therefore to re-rectify the deposition rate through the first thin film thickness control layer (230) for application to subsequently stacked thin films.
The first thin film thickness control layer (230) is formed in the QWOT thin film structure, which enables an excellent thickness control according to the real time optical thickness control method using reflection/transmission, and also facilitates an easy analysis of the deposition rate if used with the inflection point that occurs in response to the transmittance changes.
Successively, the first thin film thickness control layer (230) is formed thereon with a second non-QWOT stacked film structure (240) (
In other words, a high refractive index dielectric material layer of the second non-QWOT stacked film structure (240) is first formed using the deposition rate of the high refractive index control layer (231), and then a low refractive index dielectric material layer of the second non-QWOT stacked film structure (240) is formed using the deposition rate of the low refractive index control layer (234).
Now, once the second non-QWOT stacked film structure (240) is formed using the deposition rate of the first thin film thickness control layer (230) as a basic deposition rate following the formation of the first thin film thickness control layer (230), the thickness control can be easily effected despite the non-QWOT thin film structure.
Next, the second non-QWOT stacked film structure (240) is formed thereon with a second thin film thickness control layer (250), a third non-QWOT stacked film structure (260) is formed using the deposition rate of the second thin film thickness control layer (250), and thin film thickness control layers and non-QWOT stacked film structures are repeatedly formed in the same manner as above to form up to a nth non-QWOT stacked film structure (290) (
The thin film thickness control layers consisting of high refractive index control layers and low refractive index control layers are periodically formed in the present implementation, where a periodic interval of the thin film thickness control layers is decided by performance of a depositor.
To be more specific, as the periodic interval of the thin film thickness control layers is determined by the non-QWOT stacked film structures formed between the thin film control layers, it can be said that the periodic interval of the thin film thickness control layers is decided by performance of the depositor because the non-QWOT stacked film structures are formed within the error allowance rate of the optical thin film in consideration of the depositor.
Now, referring to
The QWOT stacked film structure (310) may be called a kind of thin film thickness control layer as it is a base of deposition rate in forming the first non-QWOT stacked film structure (320).
Next, the first non-QWOT stacked film structure (320) is formed thereon with a high refractive index control layer and a low refractive index control layer as a first thin film thickness control layer (330) (
The first thin film thickness control layer (330) is then formed thereon with a second non-QWOT stacked film structure (340), using a deposition rate of the first thin film thickness control layer (330) (
Successively, a second thin film thickness control layer (350) is formed on the second non-QWOT stacked film structure (340) (
In other words, if the first thin film thickness control layer (330) is made of a high refractive index control layer, the second thin film thickness control layer (350) is formed with a low refractive index control layer, and if the first thin film thickness control layer (330) is made of a low refractive index control layer, the second thin film thickness control layer (350) is formed with a high refractive index control layer.
Now, the second thin film thickness control layer (350) is sequentially formed with a third non-QWOT stacked film structure (360), a third thin film thickness control layer (370), a fourth non-QWOT stacked film structure (380) and a fifth thin film thickness control layer (39), and thin film thickness control layers and non-QWOT stacked film structures are repeatedly formed in the same manner as above to form upto a nth non-QWOT stacked film structure (500) (
In the present implementation, the thin film thickness control layer is formed in such a manner that a high refractive index control layer and a low refractive index control layer are alternately stacked about a non-QWOT stacked film structure, and the thin film thickness control layers are periodically formed with a predetermined interval.
In the present implementation, a deposition rate of thin film thickness control layer having a thickness corresponding to integer times of the QWOT, e.g, with a thickness at least twice the QWOT or more, is analyzed, and a non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed using the analyzed deposition rate, and a principle of analyzing the deposition rate of the thin film thickness control layer will be described with reference to
The thin film thickness control is formed in integer times of the QWOT, e.g, with a thickness at least twice the QWOT or more, and in case of an optical thin film structure based on the QWOT, the transmittance decreases as the thickness of the thin film increases, but an inflection point where the decreasing transmittance increases appears around the QWOT, and the inflection point repeatedly appears at a thin film thickness corresponding to integer times of the QWOT.
Assuming that there is no extinction coefficient of a thin film, a transmittance at a point where a thickness of the thin film thickness control layer reaches twice the QWOT comes to an original transmittance, decreases again and changes to a shape of a sine curve thereafter.
The thickness of the thin film thickness control layer can be precisely controlled due to (1) formation in the integer times the QWOT and (2) appearance of two or more inflection points caused by formation of a thickness at least twice the QWOT or more, whereby a deposition time of the thin film thickness control layer is known and a deposition rate of the thin film thickness control layer is also analyzed.
Most of the bandpass filters are based on Fabry-Perot structure composed of spacers having thickness of layers even number times the QWOT between high reflection optical thin film layers, which may be applied to the present implementations.
In other words, in case of fabricating a Fabry-Perot structure according to the present implementation, a spacer having a high error sensitivity is given as a thin film thickness control layer from which a deposition rate thereof is analyzed, and the analyzed deposition rate is applied to the non-QWOT stacked film structure, thereby enabling to enhance in real time the accuracy of thickness control relative to thickness-improbable non-QWOT thin film layers.
As apparent from the foregoing, there is an advantage according to the present implementations thus described in that a QWOT stacked film structure is formed on a substrate from which a deposition rate is analyzed, and a non-QWOT stacked film structure is formed using the analyzed deposition rate, enabling to precisely control a thin film thickness of the non-QWOT stacked film structure.
Another advantage is that thin film thickness control layers are periodically formed on an optical multilayer thin film structure and a deposition rate thereof is applied to a non-QWOT stacked film structure fabricated thereafter, such that the deposition rate can be periodically corrected according to performance state of a depositor and the non-QWOT stacked film structure can be formed within an error allowance rate of the optical thin film.
Still another advantage is that, through a QWOT stacked film structure and a thin film thickness control layer, thickness of a non-QWOT stacked film structure can be accurately controlled that is to be stacked following the QWOT stacked film structure and the thin film thickness control layer such that a multilayer bandpass filter having a pass band desired by an optical device can be embodied.
The particular implementations disclosed above are illustrative only, as the implementations may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular implementations disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present description. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2006-0037000 | Apr 2006 | KR | national |