JP3100403B2 - High frequency excitation ion plating equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-frequency excitation ion plating apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a new high-frequency excitation ion plating apparatus capable of forming a vapor deposition film with high efficiency and excellent film quality, and a vapor deposition method using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vacuum deposition, sputtering, and CVD have been used as vapor deposition methods for metals, alloys, inorganic substances such as oxides and nitrides, and organic substances.
In addition, an ion plating method for forming a thin film on a substrate surface by exciting an evaporating substance at a high frequency is known.

[0003] Regarding this ion plating method,
A high-frequency electrode arranged in a coil shape between the evaporant generating means and the substrate has been developed by the inventor of the present invention,
It has become a typical example. This method activates the evaporating particles by exciting the evaporating substance with high frequency,
Since a deposited film is formed by radicals or the like, a thin film having a large adhesive force and a uniform structure is obtained, and as a result, excellent film quality is realized.

For this reason, attention has been paid to a method of forming a functional thin film in the fields of electricity, electronic equipment, decoration, and optics.
Its application area is expanding. As a method for producing higher quality thin film products, there is great expectation for the ion plating method using the high-frequency excitation method. For example, in recent years, demand has rapidly expanded, and demands for higher performance have been increasing. Attempts have been made to apply this high-frequency excitation ion plating method to the formation of an ITO transparent conductive film or the like, which is becoming increasingly popular.

[0005] In previous studies, it has been confirmed that a transparent conductive film having good specific resistance and transmittance can be manufactured by this high-frequency excitation ion plating method as compared with the case of vacuum deposition or sputtering. . However, in the case of the high-frequency excitation ion plating method, there is a limitation in the high-frequency excitation space, and therefore, there are some difficulties in mass production and high-efficiency film formation. In addition, in the case of the related art, there is a limitation in improving the film characteristics.

Therefore, it is desired to realize an ion plating method which makes it possible to form a transparent conductive film or the like with a large amount, high efficiency, and further improved film quality while utilizing the excellent features of the high frequency excitation system. Was rare.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, as to solve the above problems, a peripheral surface and disposing a plurality of substrates in a substantially cylindrical circumferential surface and rotatable, inclined to the central portion more vertical position and based on the evaporation <br/> onset substance generator means and high-frequency electrode of each
The scattering direction of excited particles is different by making the direction opposite to the plate different
Ri Na arranged manner, and, from the high-frequency electrode of excited particle
A shutter is placed in the scattering direction and multiple substrates
A film thickness compensator is placed in the whole area or almost the whole area in front of the deposition side of
To provide a high frequency excitation ion plating device according to claim Rukoto such Te.

The present invention also provides a high-frequency excitation ion plating method characterized in that a high-frequency excitation vapor deposition film is formed on a substrate surface by the ion plating apparatus. The apparatus and method of the present invention have been completed by finding that most of the problems of the conventional ion plating method can be overcome by improving the configuration of the reactor. High quality thin films such as transparent conductive films can be formed by highly efficient production.

The device of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the device of the present invention comprises a plurality of substrates (1) arranged on a substantially cylindrical peripheral surface. The entire surface is rotatable as a whole,
A plurality of evaporating substance generating means (2) and high-frequency electrodes (3) are arranged in an inclined manner at the center. These substrate (1), evaporating substance generating means (2), and high-frequency electrode (3) are installed in a vacuum chamber (4). Further, the vacuum chamber (4) is provided with an exhaust part (5) and a gas introduction part (6).

As is apparent from FIG. 2 which shows the high-frequency excitation ion plating apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration in a longitudinal sectional view, a plurality of substrates (1) whose peripheral surfaces are rotatable are provided. It is mounted on a cylindrical support frame (7), and a substrate heater (8) is arranged on the outer periphery of the frame (7). The cylindrical support frame (7) is made to rotate as a whole, for example, by rollers actuated by a drive.

The gas introducing section (6) is disposed substantially at the center or at any other suitable position. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a plurality of vapor-deposited substance generating means (2) and a high-frequency electrode ( 3) is arranged such that its installation height and the direction of the inclined surface facing the substrate are different. In any case, the evaporating substance from the evaporating substance generating means (2) is excited by the high-frequency electrode (3) and scatters toward the substrate (1).

The number and positions of these evaporant generating means (2) and high-frequency electrodes (3) are not limited. However, two or more sets are arranged so that the vertical height and the scattering direction of the excited particles are different. It is preferable to arrange them together. As the evaporative substance generating means (2) at this time, it is particularly preferable to arrange an electron gun together with the evaporating source. Of course, other heating evaporating means may be used. The shape and size of the high-frequency electrode (3) and the number of the high-frequency electrodes (3) can be appropriately determined. ) Is arranged so as to be obliquely opposed.

The high-frequency electrode (3) can be connected to an RF power source via an RF matching box (9) above the vacuum chamber (4) as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In the case of this device, as shown in FIG.
A shutter (10), a film thickness compensator (11), and a crystal monitor (12) can be provided. Such a device of the present invention can be used as a vacuum deposition device without disposing the high-frequency electrode (3), and is particularly effective as a deposition device using an electron gun as the evaporant generating means (2).

For this reason, the apparatus of the present invention can be used together as a vacuum evaporation apparatus. Note that a DC bias potential may be applied to the substrate (1), and cooling means or the like may be provided as necessary. Further, the gas introduction section (6) may be provided with a plurality of discharge ports so that gas can be ejected near the high-frequency electrode (3).

In the high-frequency excitation ion plating apparatus of the present invention, a wide range of arbitrary sources can be used as the evaporating substance source. For example, Au, Ag, C
u, Al, Cr, Ti, Sn, Zn, Mo, W, Si,
Inorganic compounds such as Ni, Co, Fe, In, Pd, other metals or alloys, oxides thereof, and the like, or any of low-molecular and high-molecular organic compounds can be used. Depending on the type of the target vapor-deposited film, in addition to an inert gas such as argon or helium,
Gases of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and other organic compounds can be introduced as appropriate.

The type, shape, size, and the like of the substrate (1) are also arbitrary. For example, a plate, a complex shape, or any other appropriate material made of metal, glass, ceramic, another inorganic substance, resin, or the like. May be something. Various ion-plated thin films can be obtained as a single-layer film, a multilayer film, or a mixed film of metal / inorganic / organic depending on the type of the evaporation source material, the introduced gas, and the substrate.

Of course, the details of the apparatus, the degree of vacuum,
Regarding the operating conditions such as temperature, gas pressure, high-frequency power, etc., it goes without saying that various modes are possible based on the techniques known so far. Hereinafter, examples will be shown, and the apparatus of the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration shown in FIGS.
An apparatus for depositing a transparent conductive film was produced. The size of the vacuum chamber (4) of this apparatus was cylindrical with a height of 2000 mm and a diameter of 1900 mm. The internal size is 300mm x 300
mm glass substrates could be processed at 45 substrates / batch.

Two sets of an evaporating substance generating means (2) composed of an electron gun and an ITO evaporation source and a high-frequency electrode (3) are arranged, and the height and the scattering direction of excited particles are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Made a difference. Vacuum performance, when no load and no heating, ・ Achievement pressure 10 ^-7 Torr level ・ Evacuation time 15 min to 5 × 10 ^-5 Torr ・ Pressure rise 1 × 10 ^-4 Torr ・ l / sec or less The temperature characteristic was 300 ° C. ± 10 ° C. for ordinary use.

Using this vapor deposition apparatus, under a vacuum condition of 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ Torr, an argon gas and oxygen are introduced from a gas introduction section (6) so as to obtain an oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10 ⁻⁴ Torr. An ITO transparent conductive film was formed on a glass substrate at 3 Kw. The following film characteristics were obtained by high frequency excitation ion plating.・ Film thickness 1500Å ・ Specific resistance 1.0 × 10 ^-4 Ω ・ Cm ・ Transmittance 86% (whole visible light range, including glass) The processing time for one batch was 40 minutes.

Using the same apparatus, an SiOx thin film was formed. Also in this case, excellent film characteristics were obtained. In each case, the adhesive force of the thin film and the uniformity of the structure were extremely excellent. Mass production, high efficiency production and excellent quality thin films are made possible by the method using the apparatus of the present invention.

[0022]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to produce high-quality thin films in large quantities and with high efficiency. The present invention greatly contributes to the formation of a single-layer or multilayer functional thin film in a wide range of fields.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view illustrating the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base plate 2 Evaporation substance generating means 3 High frequency electrode 4 Vacuum chamber 5 Exhaust part 6 Gas introduction part 7 Cylindrical support frame 8 Substrate heater 9 RF matching box 10 Shutter 11 Film thickness correction plate 12 Crystal monitor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shigeki Daikohara 3-2-6 Minamioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Makakuki Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-89656 (JP, A) JP Hei 1-105330 (JP, A) JP-B 61-3393 (JP, B2) JP-B 57-41807 (JP, B2) JP-B 62-31813 (JP, B2) Jiko 58-52281 ( JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C23C 14/00-14/58

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of substrates are disposed on a substantially cylindrical peripheral surface so that the peripheral surface is rotatable, and a plurality of evaporating substance generating means and a high-frequency electrode are inclined at a central portion so that the upper and lower positions are arranged at respective upper and lower positions. One
By different and direction Ri greens and distribution <br/> location as scattering direction of the excitation particles are different, and, scattering direction of the excitation particles from the high-frequency electrode
The shutter is placed on the top and the evaporation side of multiple substrates
High-frequency excitation ion plating device according to claim Rukoto such by placing the film thickness correction plate in front of the entire or substantially entire region. Wherein 請 Motomeko 1 or transparent conductive consisting second device
An apparatus for forming an electroconductive film . 3. A substrate surface by the apparatus according to claim 1.
Characterized by forming a high-frequency excitation deposition film on the substrate
Excitation ion plating method .