Nissin Electric Co., Ltd.

Emd Corporation

Other

Japan Science and Technology Agency

Tomoegawa Corporation

Yasunori Ando

Tokyo Electron Limited

Tomoegawa Co., Ltd.

Osaka Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology

Ogawa, Soichi

Miyake, Shoji

Ebe, Akinori

Akinori Ebe

Eiichi Nishimura

Yuichi Setsuhara

Kiyoshi Ogata

Naoto Kuratani

Satoshi Nishiyama

Eiji Takahashi

Tatsuo Shoji

Shoji Miyake

Taizo Okazaki

Masanori Watanabe

Yasuo Suzuki

Hideki Moriuchi

Akira Watanabe

Hiroshige Deguchi

Hajime Tsuda

Shinichiro Ishihara

Kenji Kato

Kiyoshi Kubota

Hitoshi Yoneda

Jeon Geon Han

Eiji Ino

Yasushi Fujinami

Osamu Imai

Hajime Ashida

Shiro Ikuhara

Yoshiharu Kakehi

Shinichi Iwasaki

Soichi Ogawa

Kazuo Satoh

Yusuke Kondo

A radio-frequency antenna through which a high amount of current can be efficiently passed even at a radio-frequency level for plasma generation, as well as a plasma processing device utilizing the radio-frequency antenna. A radio-frequency antenna includes a metal fiber sheet. A plasma processing device includes: a vacuum container including a wall having an opening; a radio-frequency antenna including a metal fiber sheet and located at the opening; and a dielectric protection plate located closer to the interior of the vacuum container than the radio-frequency antenna and configured to close the opening in a gas-tight manner. The radio-frequency antenna including a metal fiber sheet has a larger surface area and a lower impedance to a radio-frequency current than a radio-frequency antenna including a metal plate having the same outer shape. Therefore, it allows a radio-frequency current commonly used for plasma generation to be more efficiently passed through in large amounts.

Radio-frequency antenna and plasma processing device

A plasma generator includes an AC power supply, a power supply electrode and a ground electrode, one of which is disposed in a gas flow path and the other of which is a conductive wall constituting the gas flow path, an inflexible connection member configured to electrically connect the AC power supply and the power supply electrode, and an insulating material (power supply side insulating material, ground side insulating material) covering a side of one of the power supply electrode and the ground electrode, the side facing the other electrode.

Plasma generator

The present invention aims at providing a radio-frequency antenna unit capable of generating a high-density discharge plasma in a vacuum chamber. The radio-frequency antenna unit according to the present invention includes: a radio-frequency antenna through which a radio-frequency electric current can flow; a protective tube made of an insulator provided around the portion of the radio-frequency antenna that is in the vacuum chamber; and a buffer area provided between the radio-frequency antenna and the protective tube. The 'buffer area' refers to an area where an acceleration of electrons is suppressed, and it can be formed, for example, with a vacuum or an insulator. Such a configuration can suppress an occurrence of an electric discharge between the antenna and the protective tube, enabling the generation of a high-density discharge plasma in the vacuum chamber.

Radio-frequency antenna unit and plasma processing apparatus

The present invention aims at providing a plasma processing apparatus for performing a plasma processing on a planar substrate body to be processed, the apparatus being capable of generating the plasma with good uniformity and efficiently using the plasma, and having a high productivity. That is, the plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a vacuum chamber; one or plural antenna supporters (plasma generator supporters) projecting into the internal space of the vacuum chamber; radio-frequency antennas (plasma generators) attached to each antenna supporter; and a pair of substrate body holders provided across the antenna supporter in the vacuum chamber, for holding a planar substrate body to be processed.

Plasma processing apparatus

A flange, which forms a portion of a vacuum container, has a rectangular opening surrounded by an insulating frame. A plate-shaped radio-frequency antenna conductoris provided so as to cover the opening, with the insulating frame clamped thereby. In this structure, a radio-frequency power source is connected via a matching box to one end along the length of the radio-frequency antenna conductor, the other end is connected to ground, and electric power is supplied so that a radio-frequency current flows from one end of the radio-frequency antenna conductor to the other. By this method, the impedance of the radio-frequency antenna conductor can be lowered, and high-density plasma with a low electron temperature can be efficiently generated.

Plasma generation device and plasma processing device

A thin-film forming sputtering system capable of a sputtering process at a high rate. A thin-film forming sputtering system includes: a vacuum container; a target holder located inside the vacuum container; a target holder located inside the vacuum container; a substrate holder opposed to the target holder; a power source for applying a voltage between the target holder and the substrate holder; a magnetron-sputtering magnet provided behind the target holder, for generating a magnetic field having a component parallel to a target; and radio-frequency antennae for generating radio-frequency inductively-coupled plasma within a space in the vicinity of the target where the magnetic field generated by the magnetron-sputtering magnet has a strength equal to or higher than a predetermined level. The radio-frequency inductively-coupled plasma generated by the radio-frequency antennae promotes the supply of electrons into the aforementioned magnetic field, so that the sputtering process can be performed at a high rate.

Thin-film forming sputtering system

The present invention aims to provide a plasma generator capable of creating a spatially uniform distribution of high-density plasma. This object is achieved by the following construction. Multiple antennas are located on the sidewall of a vacuum chamber, and a RF power source is connected to three or four antennas in parallel via a plate-shaped conductor. The length of the conductor of each antenna is shorter than the quarter wavelength of the induction electromagnetic wave generated within the vacuum chamber. Setting the length of the conductor of the antenna in such a manner prevents the occurrence of a standing wave and thereby maintains the uniformity of the plasma within the vacuum chamber. In addition, the plate-shaped conductor improves the heat-releasing efficiency, which also contributes to the suppression of the impedance.

Plasma generator, plasma control method and method of producing substrate

Plasma producing method and apparatus wherein a plurality of high-frequency antennas are arranged in a plasma producing chamber, and a high-frequency power supplied from a high-frequency power supply device (including a power source, a phase controller and the like) is applied to a gas in the chamber from the antennas to produce inductively coupled plasma. At least some of the plurality of high-frequency antennas are arranged in a fashion of such parallel arrangement that the antennas successively neighbor to each other and each of the antennas is opposed to the neighboring antenna. The high-frequency power supply device controls a phase of a high-frequency voltage applied to each antenna, and thereby controls an electron temperature of the inductively coupled plasma.

Plasma producing method and apparatus as well as plasma processing apparatus

The present invention aims to provide a plasma generator capable of creating a spatially uniform distribution of high-density plasma. This object is achieved by the following construction. Multiple antennasare located on the sidewall of a vacuum chamber, and a RF power source is connected to three or four antennasin parallel via a plate-shaped conductor. The length of the conductor of each antennais shorter than the quarter wavelength of the induction electromagnetic wave generated within the vacuum chamber. Setting the length of the conductor of the antenna in such a manner prevents the occurrence of a standing wave and thereby maintains the uniformity of the plasma within the vacuum chamber. In addition, the plate-shaped conductorimproves the heat-releasing efficiency, which also contributes to the suppression of the impedance.

Plasma generator, plasma control method, and method of producing substrate

A method of forming a thin polycrystalline silicon film and a thin film forming apparatus allowing inexpensive formation of a thin polycrystalline silicon film at a relatively low temperature with high productivity. More specifically, a method of forming a thin polycrystalline silicon film and a thin film forming apparatus in which a state of plasma is controlled to achieve an emission intensity ratio of hydrogen atom radicals (H&bgr;) of one or more to the emission intensity of SiH* radicals in the plasma. The thin film forming apparatus of a plasma CVD type includes a deposition chamber accommodating a deposition target substrate, a discharging electrode for plasma formation connected to a discharging power source, a gas supply device for supplying a gas and an exhaust device, and further includes an emission-spectrometer and a probe measuring device as well as a control portion for controlling at least one of the power supply, the gas supply and gas exhausting, for maintaining a desired state of plasma based on information detected by them.

Thin polycrystalline silicon film forming apparatus

Polycrystalline silicon thin film forming method

A method and apparatus for radiation of ions from an ion source,onto a surface of an objective substrate T and vacuum evaporation of a predetermined material from an evaporation source,onto the surface of the substrate, simultaneously while the substrate is continuously moved. The ion radiation from the ion source,is applied to a portion of a region reached by the evaporation material from the evaporation source,upstream relative to the direction of movement of the substrate from the center of that region and which is lower in evaporation speed than the center of the region, to thereby continuously form a mixture layer of substrate material atoms and evaporation material atoms on the surface of the substrate and then continuously form a vacuum evaporation film with a predetermined thickness on the mixture layer.

Film forming method and apparatus

A method of manufacturing an ultraviolet resistant object, wherein the object has at least a portion made of a polymer material, and is provided with an ultraviolet shielding film covering at least a portion of a surface of the portion made of the polymer material, including the steps of forming the ultraviolet shielding film by vapor deposition over the surface of the portion to be covered with the film; and irradiating, prior to the formation of the ultraviolet shielding film or in an initial stage of the film forming step, the film formation surface with ions with an energy in a range from 0.05 keV to 2 keV to attain the total irradiation rate in a range from 1.times.10.sup.13 ions/cm.sup.2 to 5.times.10.sup.17 ions/cm.sup.2.

Method of manufacturing an ultraviolet resistant object

A copper film coated substrate includes a substrate and a copper film formed on a surface of the substrate. The copper film has an X-ray diffraction intensity of 2.0 cps/nm or more per unit film thickness at a crystal orientation (111) face of the copper film. A crystal orientation of a copper thin film is controlled by irradiating a surface of a substrate with inert gas ions before forming a copper thin film on the substrate by a physical vapor deposition process. A copper thin film is formed by irradiating a surface of a substrate with ions, and depositing a copper thin film on the irradiated substrate. In the ion irradiating step, an ion irradiation energy for a dosage of the irradiated ions is controlled, so that crystal is greatly grown to be orientated in a direction of copper (111) face with a less dosage of the irradiated ions.

Copper crystal film coated organic substrate

A film carrier type substrate includes a film made of organic high molecular substance, a metal layer formed over the film by depositing metal vapor and irradiating nitrogen gas ions on the film and a mixing layer made of a mixture of the materials of both the metal layer and the film formed in the interface between the metal layer and the film. Prior to forming the metal layer, inert gas ions and/or nitrogen gas ions may be irradiated on the film in advance.

Method of manufacturing film carrier type substrate

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Akinori Ebe