Patent Application
20210069745
Embodiments described herein generally relate to electronic device manufacturing, and more particularly, to organic vapor deposition systems and substrate processing methods related thereto.
Organic vapor deposition is becoming increasingly relevant in the manufacturing of integrated organic photoelectric devices, such as complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors. A CMOS image sensor (CIS) typically features a plurality of organic photo-detectors (OPDs) integrally formed with a corresponding plurality of CMOS transistors. Each OPD-CMOS transistor combination provides a pixel signal which, when combined with other pixel signals provided by the image sensor, can be used to form an image. Typically, the OPDs are formed from a patterned film stack comprising one or more layers of organic photo-conductive films interposed between two transparent electrode layers, such as indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrode layers. The CMOS devices are typically formed on a silicon substrate, e.g., a wafer, using a conventional semiconductor device manufacturing process, and the organic photo-detectors are then formed there over. The organic photo-conductive films are typically deposited onto a masked substrate having a plurality of CMOS devices formed thereon using an organic vapor deposition process.
Organic vapor deposition processes are commonly used in the manufacturing of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, such as television screens, or large scale arrays of organic photo-detectors, such as solar cells, where the organic devices are formed on a large rectangular panel. Unfortunately, integrating organic vapor deposition processes conventionally used in panel manufacturing into high-volume semiconductor device manufacturing lines has proven challenging.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art are organic vapor deposition systems suitable for handling substrates which are commonly used for semiconductor device manufacturing and substrate processing methods related thereto.
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to organic vapor deposition systems suitable for the manufacturing of integrated organic CMOS image sensors and methods related thereto.
In one embodiment a processing system comprises a lid assembly and a plurality of material delivery systems. The lid assembly comprises a lid plate having a first surface and a second surface disposed opposite of the first surface and a showerhead assembly coupled to the first surface. The showerhead assembly comprises a plurality of showerheads. Here, individual ones of the plurality of material delivery systems are disposed on the second surface of the lid plate and are fluidly coupled to one or more of the plurality of showerheads. Typically, the individual ones of the material delivery systems each comprise a delivery line, a delivery line valve disposed on the delivery line, a bypass line fluidly coupled to the delivery line at a point disposed between the delivery line valve and the showerhead, and a bypass valve disposed on the bypass line.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of one aspect may be beneficially incorporated in other aspects without further recitation.
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to organic vapor deposition systems suitable for the manufacturing of integrated organic CMOS image sensors and substrate processing methods related thereto.
The processing chamber 102 includes a chamber body 106 which comprises a chamber base 108, one or more sidewalls 110, and a chamber lid assembly 112. The chamber lid assembly 112 includes a lid plate 114 and a showerhead assembly 116 coupled to the lid plate 114. Here, the lid plate 114 is coupled to the one or more sidewalls 110 using a hinge 115, which allows the lid plate 114 to pivot, swing, or otherwise move away from the sidewalls 110 to allow access for maintenance. In other embodiments, the lid plate 114 may be moved away from the sidewalls 110 using a crane disposed above lid plate 114 which lifts the lid plate 114. Here, the chamber base 108, the one or more sidewalls 110, and the showerhead assembly 116 collectively define a processing volume 118.
Typically, the processing volume 118 is fluidly coupled to a vacuum source 119, such as to one or more dedicated vacuum pumps, which maintains the processing volume 118 at sub-atmospheric conditions and evacuates excess vapor-phase organic materials therefrom. Here, a valve 120, e.g., a throttle valve, is disposed on an exhaust line between the processing volume 118 and the vacuum source 119. The valve 120 is used to control the pressure in the processing volume 118. In some embodiments, the processing system 100 further includes a cold trap 121 disposed between the processing volume 118 and the vacuum source 119. The cold trap 121 may be thermally coupled to a coolant source (not shown) and is used to condense and trap excess vapor-phase organic material before the vapor-phase organic material reaches the one or more dedicated vacuum pumps and undesirably condenses on the surfaces therein.
Herein, the processing chamber 102 further includes a rotatable substrate support 122 disposed in the processing volume 118 to support and rotate a substrate 124 during the vapor deposition process. In some embodiments, the substrate 124 is disposed on a substrate carrier 126, such as a portable electrostatic chuck, which further supports a shadow mask assembly 128. The shadow mask assembly 128 includes a mask frame 130 and a shadow mask 132 disposed within, and supported by, the mask frame 130 to span a surface of the substrate 124. During substrate processing, organic materials are deposited (condensed) onto the substrate 124 through openings in the shadow mask 132 disposed thereabove. Organic materials deposited onto the substrate 124 through the openings in the shadow mask 132 form one or more patterned organic material layers on the substrate surface. The substrate carrier 126, having the substrate 124 and the shadow mask assembly 128 disposed thereon, is loaded and unloaded to and from substrate support 122 through an opening 134 in one of the sidewalls 110 which is sealed by a door or a valve (not shown).
The showerhead assembly 116 includes a plurality of showerheads 136 (two of four showerheads are shown) each of which may be used to distribute a vapor-phase organic material into the processing volume 118. Each of the showerheads 136 features a heater 138 which may be used to independently control the temperature of the respective showerhead 136 relative to each of the other showerheads 136 of the showerhead assembly 116. As discussed further below, controlling the temperature of the components of the material delivery systems 104 and the showerheads 136 facilitates control over the mass flow rate of the vapor-phase organic material into the processing volume 118. For example, when the temperature of a component and/or a showerhead 136 is increased, the flow of vapor-phase organic material therethrough also increases. Thus, the ability to independently control the temperature of each of the showerheads 136 relative to one another advantageously facilitates independent control over the flow rates of the respective organic materials therethrough. Here, each of the showerheads 136 are spaced apart from an adjacently disposed showerhead 136 by a gap 140 to reduce or substantially eliminate thermal cross-talk therebetween.
In some embodiments, each of the showerheads 136 are surrounded by a reflector 141. Typically, each of the reflectors 141 comprise a metal having a highly polished surface, e.g., a mirrored surface, which faces the showerhead. The reflectors 141 are used to arrest heat within the respective showerhead 136, e.g., to prevent radiant heat loss from the sides of the showerhead 136 into the processing volume 118 and to prevent thermal cross-talk between adjacent showerheads 136. Further aspects of a showerhead assembly which may be used with the processing chamber 102 in place of the showerhead assembly 116 are shown and described in
Here, vapor-phase organic materials are delivered to each of the showerheads 136 using the plurality of material delivery systems 104 (four shown). Each of the material delivery systems 104 includes a vapor source 142 and a delivery line 146 fluidly coupling the vapor source 142 to a showerhead 136. In some embodiments, the delivery lines 146 fluidly couple each of the vapor sources 142 to a respective showerhead 136 in a one-to-one relationship where each of the showerheads 136 has an individual vapor source 142 corresponding thereto. In other embodiments, two or more showerheads 136 may be fluidly coupled to an individual vapor source 142, such as by using a second delivery line 147 (shown in phantom) which is fluidly coupled to a first delivery line 146.
During operation of the processing system 100, the vapor sources 142 will typically contain a solid-phase organic material, such as an organic powder, which is heated under vacuum to vaporize or sublimate the organic material into a vapor-phase thereof. Here, the delivery lines 146 are heated using respective heaters 148, such as resistive heating elements, which are thermally coupled thereto. The heaters 148 may extend along the lengths of the delivery lines 146 from the vapor sources 142 to the showerheads 136 or may extend along portions of the lengths of the delivery lines 146, such as from the vapor sources 142 to the lid plate 114. The heaters 148 prevent undesirable condensation of the vapor-phase organic materials in the delivery lines 146 and, in some embodiments, may be used to control the flow rates of vapor-phase organic materials through the delivery lines 146.
In some embodiments, one or more of the material delivery systems 104 feature a plurality of independently controlled heaters 148 each extending along a portion of the material delivery system 104 from the respective vapor source 142 to the corresponding showerhead 136. The plurality of independently controlled heaters 148 are used to form a multi-zone control heating system 149, e.g., zones A-E, from the respective vapor source 142 to the corresponding showerhead 136. In some embodiments, the multi-zone control heating system 149 is used to maintain uniform temperatures along the length of individual material delivery systems 104, e.g., from the respective vapor source 142 to and including the corresponding showerhead 136. In some embodiments, the multi-zone control heating system 149 is used to gradually and/or progressively change (increase or decrease) the temperatures of the individual material delivery systems 104 along the length thereof to provide fine control over the material flowrates of the vapor-phase precursors disposed therein.
Herein, at least portions of the material delivery systems 104, such as the delivery lines 146, delivery line valves 150, connections, and the heaters 148 thermally coupled thereto are disposed within a thermally insulating material, such as an insulating jacket 157. The insulating jacket 157 may be formed of any suitable material, such as a thermally insulating flexible polymer, and is used to prevent heat loss from the material delivery systems 104 into the surrounding environment and to protect personal from undesirable heat hazards through accidental contact with the material delivery system 104.
In some embodiments, one or more of the material delivery systems 104 operate under vacuum conditions to deliver the vapor-phase organic material into the processing volume 118 without the use of a carrier or push gas. In those embodiments, a delivery line valve 150 disposed on a delivery line 146 between the vapor source 142 and the lid plate 114 is opened and the vapor-phase organic material is allowed to flow therethrough. Here, the delivery line valves 150 are shut-off valves configured to start and stop the flow of vapor-phase deposition material therethrough and, when desired, to fluidly isolate the processing volume 118 from the vapor sources 142. Typically, the delivery line valves 150 are heated using one of the heaters 148, dedicated heaters (not shown), or a combination thereof, to maintain the delivery line valves 150 at desired temperatures and thus prevent condensation of vapor-phase organic material on the inner surfaces thereof.
When operating under vacuum conditions, the flowrates of the vapor-phase organic materials are at least partially controlled by maintaining a pressure differential between the processing volume 118 and the vapor sources 142. The pressure differential may be maintained by using the valve 120 fluidly coupled to the processing volume, adjusting the temperature of the vapor source 142 and thus the pressure of the vapor-phase organic material disposed therein, or both.
Operating the material delivery systems 104 under vacuum conditions beneficially reduces film contamination or quality risks associated with the use of a carrier gas. Unfortunately, in the above described embodiments residual vapor phase organic material disposed in the delivery lines 146 and the showerheads 136 will continue to bleed into the processing volume 118 after the delivery line valves 150 are closed. Thus, stopping the flow of vapor phase organic material into the processing volume 118 when the material delivery systems are operating under vacuum conditions, without the use of a carrier gas, can take longer than desired. For example, once a delivery line valve 150 is closed (or substantially closed) residual vapor-phase organic material disposed in a delivery line 146 and in a showerhead 136 may be continuously drawn into the processing volume 118. Undesired flow of residual vapor-phase organic material into the processing volume 118 may complicate substrate handling and result in undesired deposition on surfaces therein. Examples of undesired material deposition include condensation of the vapor-phase organic material on the substrate support 122 and on trailing and leading edges of the substrate 124, substrate carrier 126, and shadow mask assembly 128 respectively being unloaded and loaded to and from the substrate support 122. Thus, in some embodiments, one or more of the material delivery systems 104 further comprises a processing volume bypass system which may be used to draw residual material from the showerheads 136 and the delivery lines 146 into the cold trap 121 without the residual material traveling through the processing volume 118.
Here, each bypass system includes a bypass line 152 and bypass valve 154 disposed on the bypass line 152. The bypass lines 152 are fluidly coupled to the respective delivery lines 146 at points disposed between the delivery line valves 150 and the showerheads 136. The bypass valves 154 are respectively disposed on the bypass lines 152 between the intersections of the bypass lines 152 with the delivery lines 146 and the cold trap 121.
When a bypass system is operating in an off-mode configuration, the respective delivery line valve 150 will be open and the bypass valve 154 will be closed. Thus, when a bypass system is in an off-mode configuration, vapor-phase organic material will flow from the respective vapor source 142 to a corresponding showerhead 136. Conversely, when a bypass system is in an on-mode configuration the respective delivery line valve 150 will be closed and the bypass valve 154 will be open. Generally, the pressure in the processing volume 118 is more than the negative pressure provided by the vacuum source 119 to the bypass lines 152. Thus, when a bypass system is placed into an on-mode configuration, residual vapor-phase organic material disposed in the delivery line 146 and showerhead 136 will be drawn into or towards the bypass line 152 which will stop the flow of the residual material from the showerhead 136. Use of the bypass systems advantageously allows for vapor-phase organic material flow into the processing volume 118 to be stopped quickly, thus enabling fine control over the organic vapor deposition process.
In other embodiments, the material delivery system 104 uses a carrier gas to facilitate delivery of a vapor-phase organic material from one or more of the vapor sources 142 to the processing volume 118. For example, in some embodiments each of the vapor sources 142 are fluidly coupled (shown in phantom) to a gas source 156. The gas source 156 delivers a non-reactive carrier gas, such as Ar, N2, or He, to the desired vapor source 142 to mix with and then carry, or to push, the vapor-phase organic material into the processing volume 118. In some embodiments, the material delivery systems 104 or portions thereof, e.g., individual vapor sources 142 and delivery lines 146 fluidly coupled thereto, are purged before and after maintenance operations using a purge gas delivered from the gas source 156.
In some embodiments, at least portions of the bypass systems, such as the bypass lines 152, bypass valves 154, connections therebetween, and connections fluidly coupling the bypass lines 152 to the delivery lines 146 may be heated using a heater 148 and may be insulated using an insulating jacket 157.
In embodiments herein, operation of the processing system 100 is directed by a system controller 160. The system controller 160 includes a programmable central processing unit (CPU) 162 which is operable with a memory 164 (e.g., non-volatile memory) and support circuits 166. The support circuits 166 are conventionally coupled to the CPU 162 and comprise cache, clock circuits, input/output subsystems, power supplies, and the like, and combinations thereof coupled to the various components of the processing system 100, to facilitate control thereof. The CPU 162 is one of any form of general purpose computer processor used in an industrial setting, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC), for controlling various components and sub-processors of the processing system. The memory 164, coupled to the CPU 162, is non-transitory and is typically one or more of readily available memories such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk drive, hard disk, or any other form of digital storage, local or remote.
Typically, the memory 164 is in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage media containing instructions (e.g., non-volatile memory), which when executed by the CPU 162, facilitates the operation of the processing system 100. The instructions in the memory 164 are in the form of a program product such as a program that implements the methods of the present disclosure. The program code may conform to any one of a number of different programming languages. In one example, the disclosure may be implemented as a program product stored on computer-readable storage media for use with a computer system. The program(s) of the program product define functions of the embodiments (including the methods described herein).
Illustrative non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to: (i) non-writable storage media (e.g., read-only memory devices within a computer such as CD-ROM disks readable by a CD-ROM drive, flash memory, ROM chips or any type of solid-state non-volatile semiconductor memory devices, e.g., solid state drives (SSD)) on which information may be permanently stored; and (ii) writable storage media (e.g., floppy disks within a diskette drive or hard-disk drive or any type of solid-state random-access semiconductor memory) on which alterable information is stored. Such computer-readable storage media, when carrying computer-readable instructions that direct the functions of the methods described herein, are embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the methods set forth herein, or portions thereof, are performed by one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other types of hardware implementations. In some other embodiments, the substrate processing methods set forth herein are performed by a combination of software routines, ASIC(s), FPGAs and, or, other types of hardware implementations.
Here, the integrated lid assembly 200 includes a lid plate 202, a showerhead assembly 204, and a plurality of material delivery systems 206 (shown in
The showerhead assembly 204 features a plurality of showerheads 214 (four shown). Here, each of the showerheads 214 have a generally cylindrical sector shape, (i.e., pie-slice-shape) which collectively form a generally cylindrically shaped showerhead assembly 204. Each of the showerheads 214 includes a backing plate 215 (
Typically, the temperature of each of the showerheads 214 is controlled independently from the temperatures of each of the other showerheads 214 using a respective heater 216 (
The showerhead assembly 204 further includes a plurality of first mounts 223 coupled to, or formed from, the radially outwardly facing surfaces of the peripheral walls 230. The plurality of first mounts 223 are mated with corresponding ones of a plurality of second mounts 224 coupled to the lid plate and are secured thereto with respective fasteners 218. The center of the showerhead assembly 204, here the radially inward-most surfaces of each of the showerheads 214, is supported by a center pin 225 which is coupled to the lid plate 202 and extends downward therefrom. Here, the plurality of second mounts 224 extend outwardly from the recessed surface 212 to cause the showerheads 214 to be spaced apart from, and thus thermally isolated from, the lid plate 202 by a distance X(2) of about 5 mm or more, such as about 10 mm or more. In some embodiments, one or both of the plurality of second mounts 224 and the center pin 225 are formed of a thermally insulating material to prevent or substantially reduce thermal communication between the showerheads 214 and the lid plate 202.
Each of the material delivery systems 206 (two of four are shown) includes a vapor source 242, a delivery line 246, a delivery line valve 250, a bypass line 252, and a bypass valve 254. The delivery line valves 250 and the bypass valves 254 are operated using actuators 256, 258 respectively coupled thereto. Here, the delivery lines 246 fluidly couple each of the vapor sources 242 to a showerhead 214 in a one-to-one relationship where each individual showerhead 214 has an individual vapor source 242 corresponding thereto. In other embodiments, one or more of the material delivery systems 206 are configured to deliver vapor-phase organic material from one individual vapor source 242 to a plurality of showerheads 214, such as two or more showerheads 214, using a second delivery line, such as one of the second delivery lines 147 described in
The delivery line valves 250 are respectively disposed on the delivery lines 246 at points between the showerheads 214 and the vapor sources 242. The bypass lines 252 are fluidly coupled to the respective delivery lines 246 at points disposed between the delivery line valves 250 and the showerheads 214. The bypass valves 250 are disposed on the bypass lines 252 at points between the respective intersections of the bypass lines 252 with the delivery lines 246 and a vacuum source or cold trap, such as the vacuum source 119 or cold trap 121 described in
In some embodiments, the material delivery system 206 does not use a carrier gas, e.g., a pressurized “push” gas, to facilitate delivery of vapor-phase organic material from the vapor sources 242 to the showerheads 214. Instead the vapor-phase organic materials are drawn from the vapor sources 242 through the delivery lines 246 to a processing volume by a pressure differential maintained therebetween, such as described above in
In some embodiments, one or both of the delivery line valves 250 and the bypass valves 254 are shut-off valves having a dual action design comprising a “soft” or “hard” sealing action. When using the soft sealing action, the flow of vapor-phase organic material through a delivery line valve 250 will be substantially restricted, e.g., the cross sectional flow area will be reduced by more than about 95%, such as more than about 99%, but less than 100%. When using the hard sealing action, the flow of vapor-phase organic material through a delivery line valve 250 will be completely restricted to fluidly isolate a showerhead 214 from a respective vapor source 242. Typically, the soft sealing action is used during and between substrate processing operations to at least substantially close a delivery line valve 244, and thus substantially stop the delivery of vapor-phase organic materials from a vapor source 242 into a processing volume. The hard sealing action is typically used to completely close a delivery line valve 250 during maintenance operations when the material delivery system 206, and thus the delivery line valve 250 has been allowed to cool. For example, the hard sealing action may be used to prevent contamination of a processing volume when the vapor source 242 is opened to atmospheric conditions for reloading with organic material. Likewise, the hard sealing action may be used to prevent atmospheric contamination of a vapor source 242 when a processing chamber fluidly coupled thereto is opened for maintenance operations. The ability to use a soft sealing action beneficially reduces damage to a valve that might otherwise be incurred if the valve was completely seated at the relatively high operating temperatures described herein. Thus, the dual action valve design provides a longer useful lifetime when compared to a conventional single sealing action shut-off valve.
Herein, at least portions of the material delivery systems 206 are disposed on or above the lid plate to reduce the overall cleanroom footprint (horizontal space occupied by a system in a clean room) which would otherwise be occupied by the processing system 100 described
In some embodiments, one or both of the actuators 256, 258 are coupled to, disposed on, or otherwise supported by the lid plate 202 to respectively hold the valves 250, 254, the delivery lines 246, and the bypass lines 252 in a spaced apart relationship from the lid plate 202 and thus thermally isolated therefrom. In some embodiments, portions of the material delivery systems 206 including one or more of the vapor sources 242, the delivery lines 246, the valves 250, 254 and respective actuators 256, 258 coupled thereto, and at least portions of the bypass lines 252 are enclosed in a protective housing 259 (shown in phantom) which is coupled to the lid plate 202 and disposed there over. Beneficially, the integrated lid assembly 200 allows access into to a processing volume of a processing chamber without disconnecting the vapor sources 242 or delivery lines 246 which simplifies maintenance and cleaning thereof. In some embodiments, the bypass lines 252 may still need to be disconnected from the cold trap or vacuum source before the integrated lid assembly 200 may be moved away from a processing chamber. Further, by locating the vapor sources 242 and other components of the material delivery systems 206 closer to the processing chamber the length of the delivery lines 246 between the delivery lines valves 250 and the showerheads 236 may be shortened. Shortening the length of the portions of the delivery lines 246 disposed between the valves 250 and the showerheads 236 beneficially reduces waste of expensive organic deposition materials which would otherwise be diverted to exhaust when a bypass system is in an on-mode configuration.
In some embodiments, the heating zones 268a-f are used to vary the temperature of the vapor source 242, and thus vary the temperature of the organic material disposed therein, from the lower portion of the ampoule to the upper portion. For example the heating zones 268a-f may be used to maintain the solid phase deposition material 262 disposed towards a base of the container 260 at a first temperature while heating the sublimated vapor-phase organic material disposed towards the top of the container 260 to a second temperature which is greater than the first temperature. An alternative embodiment to the vapor source 242 which may be used with the integrated lid assembly 200 or with the processing system 100 is further shown and described in
In some embodiments, each material delivery system 206 features a plurality of independently controlled heaters 248 which may be used to form a multi-zone control heating system similar or the same as the multi-zone control heating system 149 shown and described in
Herein, the openings 238 in the lid plate 202 are sized to prevent direct contact between the lid plate 202 and the delivery lines 246. For example, in one embodiment the delivery lines 246 are spaced apart from the walls of the respective openings 238 by a distance X(3) of about 1 mm or more, such as about 3 mm or more, 5 mm or more, 7 mm or more, 9 mm or more, or for example about 10 mm or more to limit thermal communication there between. Limiting thermal communication between the lid plate 202 and the delivery lines 246 desirably prevents cold spots from forming in the corresponding portions of the delivery lines 246 and undesirable condensation of the vapor-phase organic material on the walls thereof is thus avoided. Alternative embodiments for coupling the first and second conduits 246a, b and sealing a processing volume when the lid assembly 200 is disposed thereon are shown in
In some embodiments, one or more features of the vapor source 300 may be combined with one or more features of the vapor source 242. For example, in some embodiments the vapor source 300 further includes a plurality of heaters, such as the heaters 266 disposed around and/or below the container 302. The heaters may be independently operable to provide a multi-zone heater comprising a plurality of heating zones, such as the heating zones 268a-f set forth in
In
At activity 502 the method 500 includes positioning a substrate in a processing volume of a processing chamber. Typically, the substrate is one which is suitable for semiconductor device manufacturing, e.g., a silicon wafer, and has a plurality of semiconductor devices formed thereon. In some embodiments, the substrate comprises a plurality of semiconductor devices each comprising a plurality of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors. In some embodiments, the substrate comprises a first electrode layer, such as a first indium tin oxide layer (ITO) disposed on the plurality of CMOS devices. In some embodiments, the substrate is disposed on a substrate carrier which is used to transport the substrate along with a shadow mask assembly disposed thereon, such as described above in
At activity 504 the method 500 includes flowing a vapor-phase organic material to one or more of a plurality of showerheads using a respective material delivery system of a plurality of material delivery systems. Examples of suitable organic materials which may be used to form an organic photo-detector using the method 500 include Tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato), aluminum (Alq3), and Buckminsterfullerene (C60). Typically, sublimating and maintaining the organic materials in a vapor-phase using the material delivery systems described herein requires heating the components of the material delivery systems to temperatures up to, and in some embodiments above, 600 degrees Celsius.
At activity 506 the method 500 includes exposing the substrate to one or more vapor-phase organic materials which have been distributed into the processing volume through the one or more showerheads. In some embodiments, two or more organic materials are flowed from respective vapor sources in to the processing volume either concurrently or consecutively. For example, in some embodiments a first organic material is flowed from one or more showerheads and a second organic material, which is different from the first organic material, is concurrently flowed from one or more of the remaining showerheads which are not being used for the first organic material. The substrate support is rotated while the first and second organic materials are co-flowed into the processing volume to control intermixing of the organic materials as they are condensed onto a device side surface of the substrate. Typically, slower rotation of the substrate results in less intermixing of the different organic materials to provide a laminated multi-layer structure while faster rotation provides a greater degree of intermixing and thus a more homogenous distribution of the two or more organic materials.
At activity 508 the method 500 includes stopping the distribution of the vapor-phase deposition material from the one or more showerheads by at least partially closing a delivery line valve and opening a bypass valve such as described above in one or any combination of the embodiments of
Beneficially, embodiments described herein allow for the integration of organic vapor deposition processes into a high volume semiconductor device manufacturing line.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 62/898,098, filed on Sep. 10, 2019, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62898098 | Sep 2019 | US |
