JPH0699799B2 - Vacuum deposition method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vacuum vapor deposition method for performing a thin film coating process on a substrate surface.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

For example, in the coating of tools, the coating of mechanical parts, the coating of electronic parts, the coating for surface decoration, etc. As a method, there are a vacuum arc vapor deposition method and a sputtering method.

The vacuum arc vapor deposition method is an application of a vacuum arc. For example, a Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-3033
Or a method disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 52-14690 and the like, which has a feature that a film having high adhesion can be obtained at a high film-forming rate by a high ionization rate and ion energy of an evaporated substance, There is a problem that the film formed by the molten particles (macro particles) generated during evaporation is rough.

On the other hand, the sputtering method generates an inert gas plasma, and the inert gas ions are used as a “target” of the film material.
This is a well-known method of burying the atoms of the film substance that collide with the substrate and recoil at this time in the substrate, which is often used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and enables high-quality film formation. There was a problem that was slow.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and continuously performs evaporation of both the vacuum arc vapor deposition method and the sputter vapor deposition method from a common evaporation source, and has the drawbacks of the thin films formed by both vapor deposition methods. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum deposition method capable of obtaining a high-quality thin film having both advantages.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the gist of the present invention is to provide a substrate and an evaporation source in a vacuum chamber, wherein in the vacuum evaporation method for forming a thin film on the surface of the substrate using the evaporation source, The evaporation source is configured to be capable of continuously performing both evaporation by vacuum arc evaporation and sputter evaporation by switching the power source.First, the evaporation source is operated as an arc evaporation source and the vacuum arc evaporation method is applied to the surface of the substrate. After forming the thin film layer, the evaporation source is continuously operated as a sputter evaporation source to form the thin film layer by the sputter deposition method on the thin film layer by the vacuum arc deposition method.

[Action]

By switching the power source, vacuum arc evaporation and sputter evaporation are continuously performed from a common evaporation source, and thin films of both vapor deposition methods are formed in a laminated form on the surface of the substrate. In the first half of film formation,
The deposition rate is increased by arc vapor deposition, and the quality of the film surface is secured by sputter vapor deposition in the latter half of film formation.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the essential parts of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an evaporation source installed in the vacuum chamber 2 (on the left side of the drawing), which is insulated from the wall of the vacuum chamber 2 by an insulating structure 3 with a sufficient withstand voltage for an electrically applied voltage.

Reference numeral 4 is a sputtering power supply device for operating the evaporation source 1 as a sputter evaporation source, and 5 is an arc generation power supply device for operating the evaporation source 1 as a vacuum arc evaporation source.
Both power supply devices 4 and 5 are switched by a changeover switch 6 and connected to the evaporation source 1.

The evaporation source 1 described above has a sputter evaporation material (target) 7 in order to function as a sputter evaporation source.
And a magnetic circuit 9 made of a material having a high magnetic permeability, which is provided with an exciting magnet 8 on the back surface of the evaporation material 7, and the evaporation source 1 functions as the vacuum arc evaporation source. Of the vacuum chamber 2 is insulated from the wall of the vacuum chamber 2 in front of the evaporating surface and is cooled by a cooling mechanism (not shown), and the vacuum arc spot is evaporated around the evaporating surface. It has a confinement ring 11 installed so as to be confined in the plane.

Although not shown, an ignition mechanism for igniting a vacuum arc is installed near the evaporation source.

In the above configuration, the evaporation source 1 is connected to the arc generating power supply device 5 by the changeover switch 6, and the output of the arc generating power supply device 5 is used as the cathode and the anode 10 in front of the evaporation surface of the evaporation source 1 is used. When the vacuum arc ignition mechanism is operated while applying the voltage, a vacuum arc discharge is generated between the surface of the evaporation material 7 cooled from the back surface and the anode 10, and the evaporation material 7 is generated by the vacuum arc.
Evaporation occurs.

The structure of the evaporation source 1 in this case is basically the same as that of the vacuum arc evaporation source.

Next, the changeover switch 6 is switched to the side of the power supply device for sputtering 4, and the evaporation source 1 is connected to the power supply device for sputtering 4,
The direct current or RF output of the sputtering power supply device 4 is applied between the evaporation source 1 and the wall of the vacuum chamber 2 (when the direct current is used, the evaporation source 1 is the cathode), and the evaporation material 7 cooled from the back surface is applied. A magnetic field 12 is formed on the surface by the exciting magnet 8 and the magnetic circuit 9 on the back surface.

In this way, by introducing an inert gas such as argon from the gas introduction system into the vacuum chamber 2 and applying an output to the sputtering power supply device 4 while keeping the strength of the magnetic field 12 at an appropriate level, the magnetic field lines are generated. A discharge is generated in the vicinity of the target surface, and the evaporation material 7 is evaporated by sputtering.

The structure of the evaporation source 1 in this case is basically the same as that of a sputter evaporation source called a planar magnetron.

That is, in the present invention, in the first half of film formation, even if the film quality is relatively low, the film formation rate is obtained by arc vapor deposition, and in the second half of film formation, the film surface quality is ensured even if the film formation rate is slow. The film is formed by using sputter deposition.

Next, when the evaporation source 1 of the apparatus of the present invention is used in one evaporation system, it is examined whether the other mechanism has a bad influence.

First, when performing vacuum arc evaporation, there is no effect because the sputtering power supply device 4 is completely disconnected by the changeover switch 6, and the exciting magnet 8 and the magnetic circuit 9 for forming the magnetic field 12 are excited. Since no current is flowing through the magnet 8, it does not cause any problem as if it does not exist.

Moreover, even if excitation is performed, the vacuum arc tends to gather arc spots near the position where the magnetic field is parallel to the evaporation surface, and the arc spot receives a force in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field lines and moves. However, there is no significant effect on evaporation itself.

This indicates that a permanent magnet can be used as a means for forming a magnetic field for sputtering.

Next, when the sputter evaporation is performed, the arc generating power supply device 5 is completely separated from the evaporation source 1 by the changeover switch 6 and there is no influence, and the arc confinement ring 11 is located on the outermost side of the target and a strong discharge is generated. It can be installed at a position away from the position where the spatter occurs and the sputter action occurs, and it is considered that the sputter phenomenon is not adversely affected.

Further, by using a well-known mechanically operating arc ignition mechanism, it is possible to keep the arc ignition mechanism at a distance from the evaporation surface when not in use, and it does not hinder spatter evaporation. Also, if the anode also has a ring-shaped structure, it will not hinder the evaporation of sputter, and in the floating state as shown in the figure, it will be used as a sputter evaporation source even if it adversely affects the discharge for sputtering. At the time of use, the influence can be easily removed by grounding the vacuum chamber.

In the above embodiment, two power sources, the sputtering power source 4 and the arc generating power source 5, are used as power sources, and both power sources 4 and 5 are switched by the changeover switch 6 to vaporize the evaporation source 1.
Although the configuration to connect to is shown, the high voltage / high current type 1
By using two power supply units, switching operation from the operation,
A low voltage / high current may be output to the evaporation source 1 for vacuum arc evaporation, and a high voltage / low current may be output to the evaporation source 1 for sputtering.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the one having a planar magnetron structure is used as the sputter evaporation source, the anode is placed in the ring shape in front of the cathode as the arc power source, and the BN ceramic ring is used as the arc confining means. However, other well-known evaporation source structures other than this may be adopted.

For example, the sputter evaporation source may be not only a planar magnetron type but also a coaxial magnetron type, or a dipole or triode structure that does not use a magnetic field. Furthermore, a planar magnetron type may be used. Even
A type in which the magnetic field is composed of a permanent magnet may be used.

Further, it is a matter of course that the vacuum chamber may not be an anode as in the above-mentioned embodiment, but an independent anode may be installed in the chamber.

Also as an arc evaporation source, in the above embodiment, an example in which an independent anode was installed in the chamber was described, but it is also possible to use a vacuum chamber as an anode without specially preparing an anode.
The arc confinement is not limited to the BN ceramic ring, and it goes without saying that, for example, the shield ring disclosed by Sabref et al. May be used.

Further, when the coaxial magnetron structure is used as the sputter evaporation source, the arc evaporation source can also be used with a known cylindrical structure.

〔effect〕

According to the present invention, as described above, the evaporation source installed in the vacuum chamber is configured to be capable of continuously performing both vacuum arc evaporation and sputter evaporation by switching the power source, and using this common evaporation source. A thin film formed by vacuum arc evaporation is first formed on the surface of the substrate, and then a thin film formed by sputter evaporation is formed in a laminated form. In order to obtain a desired film thickness, the lower layer is formed by vacuum arc vapor deposition with a high film formation rate, so the film formation rate is lower than that by sputter evaporation. It will be faster, and the defects of the thin films formed by both vapor deposition methods will be compensated for each other, resulting in a high-quality thin film having both advantages.

Furthermore, when performing such two types of film forming methods, since the common evaporation source is continuously operated, the production efficiency can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the essential parts of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention. 1 ... Evaporation source, 2 ... Vacuum chamber, 3 ... Insulating structure, 4 ...
Sputtering power supply device, 5 ... Arc generation power supply device, 6 ...
Changeover switch, 7 ... Evaporating material, 8 ... Exciting magnet, 9
… Magnetic circuit, 10… Anode, 11… Confinement ring, 12… Magnetic field, A… Substrate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate and an evaporation source are provided in a vacuum chamber,
In a vacuum deposition method for forming a thin film on the surface of the substrate using the evaporation source, the evaporation source is configured to be capable of continuously performing both evaporation by vacuum arc evaporation and sputter evaporation by switching the power source, After operating the evaporation source as an arc evaporation source to form a thin film layer by the vacuum arc evaporation method on the surface of the substrate, subsequently operate the evaporation source as a sputter evaporation source on the thin film layer by the vacuum arc evaporation method. A vacuum vapor deposition method comprising forming a thin film layer by a sputter vapor deposition method.