Patent Application
20110293853
The present invention relates to a thin film forming apparatus and a thin film forming method for forming a thin film on a substrate using plasma.
Recently, an atomic layer growing method (hereinafter also abbreviated to an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method) for forming a thin film on a substrate in units of atomic layers has attracted attention as a thin film forming method. In the ALD, two types of gases that mainly contain elements constituting a film to be deposited are alternately supplied onto the deposition target substrate, and the thin film is formed on the substrate in units of atomic layers. A film having a desired thickness is formed by repeatedly forming the thin film in units of atomic layers. For example, a source gas containing TMA (Tri-Methyl Aluminum) and the oxidizing gas containing O are used when an Al2O3 film is formed on the substrate. The nitriding gas is used instead of the oxidizing gas when a nitride film is formed on the substrate.
A so-called self-stopping action (self-limit function) of growth is utilized in the ALD method. That is, in the self-stopping action of growth, only one or several layers of source gas components is adsorbed on a substrate surface during supply of the source gas, and the excess source gas does not contribute to the growth of the thin film.
The thin film formed by the ALD method has both a high step coverage characteristic and a high film-thickness control characteristic compared with the thin film formed by a general CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. Therefore, the ALD method is expected to become commonplace in forming a capacitor of a memory element and an insulating film called a “high-k gate”. Because the insulating film can be formed at a low temperature of about 300° C., the ALD method is also expected to be applied to formation of a gate insulating film of a thin film transistor in a display device, such as a liquid crystal display, in which a glass substrate is used.
In the ALD method, when the source gas component adsorbed on the substrate is oxidized, the plasma is generated using the oxidizing gas. At this point, an oxygen radical is produced by the plasma, and the source gas component adsorbed on the substrate is oxidized using the oxygen radical.
For example, in Patent Document 1, the thin film is formed on a surface of a treated body in an evacuated vessel by a heat treatment using a transition-metal-containing source gas and an oxygen-containing gas. The ALD method in which deposition is performed by repeatedly alternately supplying the source gas and the oxygen-containing gas is used as the heat treatment used to form the thin film. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, it is described that, for example, when a Mn-containing film or a CuMn-containing film is formed by the heat treatment such as CVD, a micro recess can be buried with high step coverage by the Mn-containing film or the CuMn-containing film.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-016782
In the ALD method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the micro recess can be buried with the high step coverage by the thin film. However, unfortunately it takes a long time to form the thin film and production efficiency is degraded. Additionally, because the inside of the treatment vessel gets dirty when the thin film is formed by the plasma, it is necessary to frequently clean the inside of the treatment vessel, which results in a problem in that considerable work and time for maintenance of the treatment vessel are required.
In order to solve the problems, an object of the invention is to provide a thin film forming apparatus and a thin film forming method for being able to enhance plasma generation density to efficiently form the thin film when the thin film is formed on the substrate using the plasma.
According to an aspect of the invention, a thin film forming apparatus that forms a thin film on a substrate using plasma is provided. The thin film forming apparatus include:
an outside vacuum vessel that constitutes a first internal space;
an inside vacuum vessel that is provided in the first internal space of the outside vacuum vessel to constitute a second internal space;
a plasma source that is provided in the first internal space, the plasma source receiving supply of a high-frequency power to generate the plasma; and
a substrate stage that is provided opposite the plasma source in the first internal space, the second internal space being surrounded by the substrate stage and the inside vacuum vessel, the substrate being placed on the substrate stage in the second internal space.
The substrate placed on the substrate stage is disposed in the second internal space, and
pressures of the first internal space and the second internal space and a power supplied to the plasma source are controlled such that the plasma is generated in the second internal space while not generated in the first internal space.
According to another aspect of the invention, a thin film forming method for forming a thin film on a substrate using plasma is provided. The thin film forming method includes the steps of:
controlling pressures of a first internal space and a second internal space provided in the first internal space according to determined pressure conditions;
causing a source gas to flow onto the substrate in the second internal space and supplying a high-frequency power to a plasma source provided in the first internal space according to the pressure conditions, thereby generating the plasma in the second internal space to form the thin film on the substrate.
In the thin film forming apparatus and the thin film forming method of the invention, the plasma generation density can be enhanced to efficiently form the thin film when the thin film is formed on the substrate using the plasma.
Hereinafter, a thin film forming apparatus and a thin film forming method according to an embodiment of the invention will be described in detail.
An ALD apparatus 10 illustrated in
The ALD apparatus 10 includes a feed unit 12, a deposition vessel (outside vacuum vessel) 14, gas supply sections 16 and 18 and exhaust sections 20, 21, and 22 provided with vacuum pumps. The case in which an oxide film is formed on the substrate 24 will be described by way of example. The same holds true for a nitride film. The gas supply sections 16 and 18 are disposed in a direction perpendicular to the paper plane of
The feed unit 12 supplies a power (high-frequency signal) to each antenna element 28 of an antenna array 30 provided in the deposition vessel 14. The feed unit 12 includes a high-frequency signal generator 13 and a distributor 15, and the high-frequency signal generator 13 includes an oscillator and an amplifier.
The distributor 15 divides the high-frequency signal generated by the high-frequency signal generator 13 into plural high-frequency signals and supplies the high-frequency signals to the antenna elements 28. Lengths of feed lines from the distributor 15 to the antenna elements 26 are equal to one another.
The feed unit 12 feeds the power to each antenna element 28 of the antenna array 30 according to pressures (pressure conditions) that are set to the first internal space 26 and the second internal space 36.
The gas supply section 16 is connected to the second internal space 36 through a supply pipe 38 and a gas supply port provided in the substrate stage 32. The gas supply section 18 is also connected to the second internal space 36 through a supply pipe 40 and another gas supply port provided in the substrate stage 32. The gas supply section 16 supplies a source gas such as TMA (Tri-Methyl Aluminum) to the second internal space 36, and the gas supply section 18 supplies a source gas such as an oxidizing gas to the second internal space 36. The source gases are alternately supplied.
On the other hand, the exhaust section 20 is connected to an exhaust hole 42, which is provided while facing the first internal space 26 of the deposition vessel 14, through an exhaust pipe 41. Similarly to the exhaust section 20, the exhaust section 22 is connected to an exhaust hole 44, which is provided while facing the first internal space 26 of the deposition vessel 14, through an exhaust pipe 44. Each of the exhaust sections 20 and 22 includes a turbo-molecular pump that adjusts a vacuum (pressure) of the first internal space 26. The turbo-molecular pump controls the vacuum of the first internal space 26 in a range of 1×10−3 to 1×10−2 Pa or a range of 1200 to 3000 Pa. The exhaust section 20 vertically evacuates a space below the first internal space 26 through the exhaust hole 42 and the exhaust pipe 41.
The exhaust section 21 includes a dry pump. The dry pump adjusts the vacuum (pressure) of the second internal space 36 while exhausting the source gas such as TMA and the oxidizing gas from the second internal space 36 through an exhaust pipe 48 and a gas exhaust port provided in the substrate stage 32. The dry pump controls the vacuum of the second internal space 36 in a range of 20 to 100 Pa. The reason the vacuum of the first internal space 26 is set higher than that of the second internal space 36 (the pressure of the first internal space 26 is set lower than that of the second internal space 36) or lower than that of the second internal space 36 (the pressure of the first internal space 26 is set higher than that of the second internal space 36) is that the plasma is not generated in the first internal space 26 by increasing or decreasing the vacuum of the first internal space 26. The plasma generation depends on the vacuum. The power necessary to generate the plasma is determined according to the supplied gas, and the plasma is hardly generated when the vacuum is higher or lower than a certain range, that is, there is the vacuum in which the plasma is easily generated. In the embodiment, the vacuum of the second internal space 36 is determined within the vacuum range in which the plasma is easily generated, and the vacuum of the first internal space 26 is determined to be higher or lower than the above-described vacuum range. The feed unit 12 feeds the power corresponding to the determined pressure to the antenna element 28. The reason the vacuum of the first internal space 26 is increased or decreased is that difficulty of the plasma generation can rapidly be increased by the increase or decrease of the vacuum to easily control the plasma generation.
Although not illustrated, on-off valves (for example, electromagnetic valves) that control communication between the gas supply sections 16 and 18 and the second internal space 36 are provided in the middles of the supply pipes 38 and 40, respectively. Although not illustrated, an on-off valve that controls communication between the exhaust section 21 and the second internal space 36 is provided in the middles of the exhaust pipe 48, and on-off valves (for example, electromagnetic valves) that control communication between the first internal space 26 and the exhaust sections 20 and 22 are provided in the middles of the exhaust pipes 41 and 44, respectively.
When the source gases are supplied from the gas supply sections 16 and 18 into the second internal space 36, the on-off valves of the supply pipes 38 and 40 are opened to supply the source gases into the second internal space 36. When the gas supplied into the second internal space 36 is exhausted, the on-off valve of the exhaust pipe 48 is opened. When the pressure in the first internal space 26 is adjusted, the on-off valves of the exhaust pipes 40 and 44 are opened.
The metallic hollow-box-shaped deposition vessel 14 is grounded. The deposition vessel 14 is divided into an upper portion 14a and a lower portion 14b, and the upper portion 14a and the lower portion 14b are configured to be detachably attached to each other by a coupling mechanism (not illustrated). According to the configuration, the bell jar 34 can be taken out from the deposition vessel 14 to clean the dirt created by the plasma generation on an inner wall surface of the bell jar 34.
The antenna array (plasma source) 30 includes the plural antenna elements 28, the bell jar 34 and the substrate stage 32 in which a heater 50 is incorporated are sequentially provided from an upper wall side toward a lower wall side in the deposition vessel 14. The substrate 24 is placed on an upper surface of the substrate stage 32. The antenna array 30 is provided such that a virtual plane on which the antenna elements 28 are arrayed becomes parallel to the substrate placing surface of the substrate stage 32.
In order to generate the plasma using the oxidizing gas introduced to the second internal space 36, the antenna array 28 is provided so as to come close to a top of the bell jar 34. The antenna array 28 is provided between a left wall of the deposition vessel 34 and a right wall in which the exhaust hole 46 is made, and the antenna array 28 is provided above an upper surface of the bell jar 34 while being parallel to the surface of the substrate stage 32. In the antenna array 28, the plural antenna elements 28 are disposed in parallel at constant intervals. The power is supplied to each of the plural antenna elements 28 such that the plasma is generated in the second internal space 36 when the oxidizing gas is supplied to the second internal space 36.
As illustrated in
The antenna element 28 is configured such that a rod-shaped conductive monopole antenna (antenna body) 54 made of copper, aluminum, platinum or the like is accommodated in a cylindrical member 56 made of a dielectric material such as quartz and ceramic. A capacitance and an inductance are adjusted as the antenna by coating the antenna body with the dielectric material, and the high-frequency signal can efficiently be propagated along a longitudinal direction of the antenna body. Therefore, the antenna element 28 can efficiently radiate an electromagnetic wave to the surroundings.
Each of the antenna elements 28 extends in a direction orthogonal to a flow direction of the source gas flowing in the second internal space 36, and the antenna element 28 is attached in the electrically insulating manner so as to be projected from a sidewall of the deposition vessel 12. The antenna elements 28 are disposed in parallel at constant intervals, for example, intervals of 50 mm, and feed positions of two antenna elements adjacent to each other among the antenna elements 26 are located on opposite sidewalls each other.
Each of the antenna elements 28 is disposed in parallel with the substrate placing surface of the substrate stage 32. The direction in which the plural antenna elements 28 are arrayed is parallel to the substrate placing surface of the substrate stage 32.
For example, the antenna element 28 is configured such that the antenna body having a diameter of about 6 mm is provided in the dielectric cylindrical member having a diameter of about 12 mm. For the second internal space 36 whose pressure is about 20 Pa, when the high-frequency signal having the power of about 1600 W is supplied from the feed unit 12, a standing wave of the high-frequency signal is generated on a condition that the antenna length of the antenna element 28 is equal to (2n+1)/4 (n is 0 or positive integer) times of a wavelength of the high-frequency signal, whereby the antenna element 28 becomes a resonant state. Therefore, the electromagnetic wave is radiated to the surroundings of the antenna elements 28 to generate the plasma.
The bell jar 34 is a box-shaped member made of quartz, and the bell jar 34 and the upper surface of the substrate stage 32 constitute the closed second internal space 36. The substrate 24 is disposed in the second internal space 36. The reason the bell jar 34 is provided in the first internal space 26 to form the second internal space 36 separated from the first internal space 26 in the first internal space 26 is that the plasma generation density can be enhanced by generating the plasma in the second internal space 36. Conventionally, the plasma generation density is low because a plasma generation area is a wide area including the plasma source such as the antenna element 28. In the embodiment, the plasma generation area is narrow because the plasma generation area is set according to the vacuum and is restricted within the second internal space 36. Therefore, the plasma generation density becomes higher than ever before, so that the thin film can efficiently be formed. Additionally, because members such as the antenna element 28 do not exist in the second internal space 36, the surface of the antenna element 28 and the like do not become dirty due to adhesion of the thin film. As described later, the bell jar 34 is detachable from the substrate stage 32, and the bell jar 34 can be taken out from the deposition vessel 14, so that the bell jar 34 whose surface becomes dirty can be cleaned. An etching solution is used as a cleaning solution, and the cleaning is performed by dipping the bell jar 34 in the cleaning solution. Therefore, the maintenance is easy to perform.
The substrate stage 32 has an area smaller than a section of the first internal space 26 surrounded by the inside walls of the deposition vessel 14. For example, the substrate stage 32 is a metallic rectangular plate. The substrate stage 32 is vertically elevated and lowered by a lifting mechanism 58 such as a power cylinder. The gas supply sections 16 and 18 and the exhaust section 21 are configured to be elevated and lowered in association with the elevation and lowering of the substrate stage 32. At one end portion of the substrate placing surface of the substrate stage 32, supply ports for the source gases supplied from the gas supply sections 16 and 18 are provided in the portion located in the second internal space 36. At the other end portion of the substrate placing surface of the substrate stage 32, an exhaust port connected to the exhaust section 21 is provided in the portion located in the second internal space 36. Therefore, the source gas flows from the supply ports toward the exhaust port above the substrate 24.
A heater stopper 60 projected toward the central portion from the inner wall surface of the deposition vessel 14 is provided between the inner wall surface and the elevation position of the substrate stage 32. An L-shape step is provided at a position corresponding to a level of a side face of the heater stopper 60 in an upper surface of an edge portion of the substrate stage 32.
When the substrate stage 32 is elevated, a lower surface of the heater stopper 60 abuts on the step portion on the upper surface of the edge portion of the substrate stage 32, and the upper surface of the substrate stage 32 is positioned so as to become substantially flush with the upper surface of the heater stopper 46. At this point, the first internal space 26 of the deposition vessel 14 is separated into a space above the substrate stage 32 and a space below the substrate stage 32.
On the other hand, when the substrate stage 32 is located at the lowering position, a gap 62 having a predetermined interval exists between the lower surface of the heater stopper 60 and the step portion on the upper surface of the edge portion of the substrate stage 32. The upper space and the lower space are connected through the gap 62, and the exhaust sections 20 and 22 evacuate the first internal space 2 to control the vacuum (pressure) at high speed in conjunction with each other. Because the bell jar 24 moves downward along with the substrate stage 32, a lower portion 14b of the deposition vessel 14 is separated from an upper portion 14a, which allows the bell jar 24 to be taken out from the lower portion 14b.
In the ALD apparatus 10, in the state illustrated in
Then, the source gas such as TMA is supplied from the gas supply section 16. At the same time, because the exhaust section 21 is driven, a source gas flows from the left to the right of
Then the oxidizing gas flows onto the substrate 24 in the second internal space 36, and the high-frequency power is supplied to the antenna array 30 provided in the first internal space 26, thereby generating the plasma in the second internal space 36. At this point, the plasma is not generated in the first internal space 26, because the vacuum of the first internal space 26 is higher or lower than the vacuum of the second internal space 36. The plasma generation density is high because the plasma is generated only in the second internal space 36. Accordingly, an oxidation treatment of the component such as TMA adsorbed on the substrate 24 is performed for a short time using an oxygen radical produced by the plasma. Because the plasma is generated only in the second internal space 36, the excess substance does not adhere to the antenna element 28 and the like due to the plasma generation, and only the inner surface of the bell jar 34 becomes dirty. Because the bell jar 34 can be taken out, the bell jar 34 can easily be cleaned.
The power, which is higher than the supply power defined by the range of P2 of
In the embodiment, the antenna array 30 is used as the plasma source. Alternatively, various types of the plasma sources such as CCP (Capacitively-Coupled Plasma), ICP (Inductively-Coupled Plasma), and ECR (Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Plasma) can be applied. In a case of a use of the inductively-coupled plasma source as well as the electromagnetically-coupled plasma source in which the antenna such as the antenna array 30, preferably the bell jar 34 is made of quartz.
As described above, in the embodiment, the pressure is controlled such that the plasma is generated in not the first internal space where the plasma source is located but the second internal space provided in the first internal space. Therefore, the generation density of the plasma generated in the second internal space can be enhanced to efficiently form the thin film.
Additionally, because the inside vacuum vessel constituting the second internal space is configured to be detachably attached to the substrate stage, the inside vacuum vessel can easily be cleaned to ensure the ease of maintenance.
The thin film forming apparatus and the thin film forming method according to the embodiment of the invention are described in detail. However, the invention is not limited to the thin film forming apparatus and the thin film forming method of the embodiment. Obviously various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-032041 | Feb 2009 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2010/000483 | 1/28/2010 | WO | 00 | 8/4/2011 |
