The present invention relates to a nozzle head for subjecting a surface of a substrate to successive surface reactions of at least two precursor gases according to the principles of atomic layer deposition and more particularly to a nozzle head according to the preamble of the independent claim 1.
Nozzle heads are commonly used in atomic layer deposition (ALD) for subjecting a surface of the substrate to successive surface reactions of at least two precursor gases. The nozzle head comprises an output face via which precursor gases are supplied towards the substrate. The output face is provided with two or more nozzles from which the precursor gases are supplied. In this kind of spatial ALD processes the precursor gases are separated in space. With careful management of gas flow and by applying relative movement between the substrate and spatially separated gasses, it is possible to apply the coating continuously on moving substrates at high speeds. During the spatial ALD process the nozzle head is moved over the surface of the substrate such that there is small gap between the output face and the surface of the substrate. The gap between the output face and the surface of the substrate must be managed in detail such that the gap is as equal as possible during processing. Therefore, both the relative movement of the nozzle head and the substrate and the dimensions and shape of the nozzle head must be controlled in detail for keeping the gap as equal as possible.
The precursor gases and purge gas that is used for separating different precursor gases are typically supplied from a source outside the nozzle head with separate supply channels to precursor nozzles in a nozzle head. As the nozzle head is moved over the substrate either in a planar movement, in an oscillating or pendulum movement the connections between the supply channels and the nozzles are also moving together with nozzle head which makes the controlling of the connections challenging.
The process temperature is usually 50-150° C. and the nozzle head is also heated to the process temperature in order to control the process in great detail. The process temperature may in same cases be even 300° C. or 350° C. or even more. These elevated process temperatures cause thermal expansion in the nozzle head and in the surrounding structures of the nozzle head in the whole process apparatus. The thermal expansion becomes greater as the process temperature increases. The thermal expansion causes the dimensions of the nozzle head to change and it may also cause distortions to the shape and dimensions of the nozzle.
One of the problems associated with the prior art is that as the nozzle head moves in elevated temperatures the connections of the separate supply channels of the precursor gases in the nozzles are also affected by the elevated temperatures. A nozzle head comprises multiple nozzles and as every nozzle may comprise one or more supply channel connections the exterior of the nozzle head is surrounded by multiple channels which have to be moved together with the moving nozzle head.
An object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle head having more simple structure which can be used in elevated process temperatures and is adapts better to the movement of the nozzle head.
The objects of the invention are achieved by a nozzle head which is characterized by what is stated in the independent claim. The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
The invention is based on the idea of providing a nozzle head in which the gas supply to the nozzles is structurally simplified in order to provide better control for the supply in a moving nozzle head and especially in elevated temperatures.
The nozzle head according to the invention comprises a body, an output face via which at least one precursor gas is supplied towards the surface of the substrate and two or more nozzles provided in connection with the output face for supplying the at least one precursor gas. The nozzle head further comprises a nozzle head chamber inside the body of the nozzle head. The nozzle head chamber is arranged in fluid communication with the two or more nozzles such that gas provided inside the nozzle head chamber can be supplied from the nozzle head chamber through gas passages between the two or more nozzles and via output face to the surface of the substrate. The nozzle head chamber is provided with a gas inlet for supplying gas into the nozzle head chamber from a gas source outside the nozzle head.
The two or more nozzles may be arranged to form at least part of a bottom wall of the nozzle head chamber.
The body comprises a first side structure, a second side structure, a first end structure and a second end structure, and that the two or more nozzles are arranged to extend between the first and second end structures and arranged adjacent to each other in a direction between the first and second side structures. The nozzle head chamber is arranged inside the body of the nozzle head. The two or more nozzles are arranged to form at least part of a bottom wall of the nozzle head chamber, and the first side structure, the second side structure, the first end structure and the second end structure of the body are arranged to form side walls of the nozzle head chamber. The body further comprises a top structure forming a top wall of the nozzle head chamber.
The nozzle head chamber comprises a first precursor conduit for distributing first precursor gas to at least one of the two or more nozzles. The first precursor conduit is preferably arranged to distribute first precursor gas to at least two nozzles, said precursor conduit is a branching conduit having a connection with said at least two nozzles. The nozzle head comprises a first precursor gas connection for connecting a first precursor channel arranged outside the nozzle head and extending from a first precursor source with the first precursor conduit arranged inside the nozzle head chamber and extending to the at least one of the two or more nozzles. In other words, the nozzle head comprises a single first precursor gas connection connecting the first precursor channel that is outside the nozzle head and connected to the first precursor source with the first precursor conduit arranged inside the nozzle head chamber and branching inside the nozzle head chamber into multiple conduits connecting to multiple nozzles for supplying first precursor gas from the first precursor source to the nozzles and through the nozzles via output face to the surface of a substrate. The first precursor gas connection is preferably arranged in the top structure of the body of the nozzle head, i.e. in the top wall of the nozzle head chamber. Alternatively, the first precursor gas connection is provided in one of the side walls of the nozzle head chamber.
The nozzle head may be arranged such that the at least two or more nozzles are facing downwards such that the substrate to be coated is below the nozzle head or alternatively the nozzle head may be arranged such that the at least two or more nozzles are facing upwards and the substrate to be coated is above the nozzle head. In the first case the top structure of the body is upper in the nozzle head than the nozzles in a height direction of the nozzle head and in the second case the top structure of the body is lower in the nozzle head than the nozzles in the height direction of the nozzle head.
The nozzle head chamber comprises a second precursor conduit for distributing second precursor gas to at least one of the two or more nozzles. The second precursor conduit is preferably arranged to distribute second precursor gas to at least two nozzles. The nozzle head comprises a second precursor gas connection for connecting a second precursor channel arranged outside the nozzle head and extending from a second precursor source with the second precursor conduit arranged inside the nozzle head chamber and extending to the at least one of the two or more nozzles. In other words, the nozzle head comprises a single second precursor gas connection connecting the second precursor channel that is outside the nozzle head and connected to the second precursor source with the second precursor conduit arranged inside the nozzle head chamber and branching inside the nozzle head chamber into multiple conduits connecting to multiple nozzles for supplying second precursor gas from the second precursor source to the nozzles and through the nozzles via output face to the surface of a substrate The second precursor conduit, as well as the first precursor conduit, is a branching conduit such that the conduit has a single connection to the precursor gas connection and inside the nozzle head chamber it is divided into several branches such that the precursor conduit is connected with multiple connections to the multiple nozzles. The second precursor gas connection is preferably arranged in the top structure of the body of the nozzle head, i.e. in the top wall of the nozzle head chamber. Alternatively, the second precursor gas connection is provided in one of the side walls of the nozzle head chamber.
In a case where there are more than the first precursor and the second precursor similar conduits are provided for those precursors too.
Preferably the nozzle head comprises multiple nozzles such that the first precursor conduit is arranged to distribute first precursor gas to at least two precursor nozzles and the second precursor conduit is arranged to distribute second precursor gas also to at least two precursor nozzles which are different than those distributed with the first precursor. In other words, the nozzle head comprises at least two first precursor nozzles and at least two second precursor nozzles such that the first precursor conduit is arranged to distribute first precursor gas to the at least two first precursor nozzles and the second precursor conduit is arranged to distribute second precursor gas to at least two second precursor nozzles.
The gas inlet for supplying gas into the nozzle head chamber from a gas source outside the nozzle head is arranged to form a gas connection with a gas channel arranged outside the nozzle head and extending between the gas inlet and the gas source. The gas inlet is arranged to provide a fluid connection between the gas source and the nozzle head chamber. The gas inlet is preferably provided in the top structure of the body of the nozzle head, i.e. in the top wall of the nozzle head chamber. Alternatively, the gas inlet is provided in one of the side walls of the nozzle head chamber. The gas inlet provides an access for the gas to the nozzle head chamber without any gas conduits. The gas inlet is arranged in the nozzle head chamber such that it provides a direct fluid connection from a channel outside the nozzle head chamber into the nozzle head chamber. The gas source connected to the gas channel is preferably a purge gas source such that the gas supplied from the gas source to the nozzle head chamber is purge gas, but the gas may also alternatively be precursor gas.
The nozzle head chamber further comprises a discharge conduit for discharging gases from the surface of the substrate through the output face of the nozzle head and through the at least one of the two or more nozzles. The discharge conduit is connected to a discharge system arranged outside the nozzle head. The nozzle head comprises a discharge gas connection for connecting a discharge channel arranged outside the nozzle head and extending from the discharge system with the discharge conduit arranged inside the nozzle head chamber. The discharge is in other words arranged to extend inside the nozzle head chamber between the discharge gas connection and the nozzles.
In a preferable embodiment of the invention the nozzle head comprises two or more first precursor nozzles for supplying first precursor gas and two or more second precursor nozzles for supplying second precursor gas.
An advantage of the invention is that by simplifying the structure of the nozzle head with the gas supply through the nozzle head chamber the need for sealing of multiple connections in nozzles especially when the nozzle head is arranged movable decreases. This is especially advantageous with nozzle heads that are used in elevated temperatures such as temperatures between 300 and 350° C.
The invention is described in detail by means of specific embodiments with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which
In the context of this application it should be noted that a nozzle is a nozzle device into which gas is supplied and the nozzle device comprises a nozzle body and a nozzle opening from the which the gas discharges out of the nozzle.
The nozzle head chamber 22 is arranged inside the body 4 of the nozzle head 2. The nozzle head chamber 22 is formed of the first side structure 10, the second side structure 12 opposite to the first side structure 10 and the first end structure 18 and the second end structure 20 opposite to the first end structure 18 and the top structure 14 and the two or more nozzles are arranged to form at least part of a bottom wall of the nozzle head chamber 22. The nozzle head chamber 22 is arranged in fluid communication with the two or more nozzles 6 which means that gases in the nozzle head chamber 22 can flow from the nozzle head chamber 22 to the two or more nozzles 6 or vice versa.
The nozzle head chamber 22 is provided with a gas inlet 92 for supplying gas into the nozzle head chamber 22 from a gas source 94 outside the nozzle head 2. The gas inlet 92 is in the embodiment of the invention shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the detail shown in
Although the figures show for the sake of clarity only on discharge conduit 82 there may alternatively be several discharge conduits, for example in the case where there are two precursor gas conduits there can be also two discharge conduits such that there is one discharge for each precursor gas.
The invention has been described above with reference to the examples shown in the figures. However, the invention is in no way restricted to the above examples but may vary within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20175918 | Oct 2017 | FI | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/FI2018/050755 | 10/17/2018 | WO | 00 |