Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Koichiro Moriyama

Masahiro Kanai

Tadashi Hori

Hiroshi Shimoda

Hiroyuki Ozaki

Hirokazu Ohtoshi

Takehito Yoshino

Shotaro Okabe

Hiroshi Echizen

Yuzo Koda

Naoto Okada

Hirokazu Otoshi

Atsushi Yasuno

Kohei Yoshida

Yasuyoshi Takai

Takaharu Kondo

Masatoshi Tanaka

Takeshi Shishido

Akira Sakai

Masafumi Sano

Ryo Hayashi

Takahiro Yajima

Hidetoshi Tsuzuki

Tadashi Sawayama

Yusuke Miyamoto

Yukito Aota

Shuichiro Sugiyama

A method for forming a semiconductor device including a semiconductor layer, formed of a silicon-based deposited film containing crystals by plasma-enhanced CVD, includes the steps of applying a bias voltage between a high-frequency electrode and a substrate with the high-frequency electrode being negative when the semiconductor layer is formed; detecting sparks occurring on the high-frequency electrode or the substrate; and controlling at least one condition, selected from the group consisting of high-frequency power, bias voltage, bias current, pressure, gas flow rate, and interelectrode distance, based on the results of the detection so that the number of sparks with durations of 100 ms or more is 1 or less sparks per minute.

Method for forming semiconductor device and method for forming photovoltaic device

A chemical-reaction inducing means is provided in an exhaust line connecting a processing space for subjecting a substrate or a film to plasma processing to an exhaust means, and at least either an unreacted gas or byproduct exhausted from the processing space are caused to chemically react without allowing plasma in the processing space to reach the chemical-reaction inducing means, thereby improving the processing ability of the chemical-reaction inducing means to process the unreacted gas or byproduct.

Exhaust processing method, plasma processing method and plasma processing apparatus

A method of forming a silicon-based thin film according to the present invention comprises introducing a source gas containing silicon fluoride and hydrogen into a vacuum vessel, and using a high frequency plasma CVD method to form a silicon-based thin film on a substrate introduced into the vacuum vessel, wherein a luminous intensity attributed to SiF&#x3b1; (440 nm) is not smaller than a luminous intensity attributed to H&#x3b1; (656 nm), thereby providing a photovoltaic element with excellent performance at a low cost as compared with a conventional one, a method of forming a silicon-based thin film with excellent characteristics in a short process cycle time at a further increased film-forming rate, a silicon-based thin film formed by the method, and a photovoltaic element comprising the silicon-based thin film with excellent characteristics, adhesion, and resistance to the environments.

Method of forming silicon-based thin film, silicon-based thin film, and photovoltaic element

A vacuum-processing apparatus comprising a vacuum vessel, a processing chamber arranged in the vacuum vessel and a heater for heating a circumferential wall of the processing chamber, wherein a substrate is arranged in the processing chamber and the substrate is vacuum-processed in the processing chamber, characterized in that the vacuum-processing apparatus has a cooling plate located outside the processing chamber and arranged at a position to oppose the circumferential wall of the processing chamber for cooling the circumferential wall of the processing chamber, and a mechanism for moving the cooling plate so as to change a distance between the cooling plate and the circumferential wall of the processing chamber. A vacuum-processing method for performing a surface treatment for a substrate using the vacuum-processing apparatus.

Vacuum-processing method using a movable cooling plate during processing

A substrate-processing method includes at least (a) a step of delivering a web substrate and an interleaf from a substrate delivery bobbin provided in a substrate delivery chamber while the web substrate is transported into a substrate-processing chamber and the interleaf delivered is wound on an interleaf takeup bobbin, and (b) a step of subjecting the web substrate transported into the substrate-processing chamber to desired processing in the substrate-processing chamber. The web substrate processed in the substrate-processing chamber is transported outside the substrate-processing chamber, and transport abnormality of the interleaf in the substrate delivery chamber is detected by a transport abnormality-detecting mechanism.

Apparatus and method for processing a substrate

In a process for forming a silicon-based film on a substrate according to the present invention, the substrate has a temperature gradient in the thickness direction thereof in the formation of the silicon-based film and the temperature gradient is made such that a deposition surface of the substrate has a higher temperature than a backside or the direction of the temperature gradient is reversed. With this configuration, the present invention provides a silicon-based thin film having good properties at a high deposition rate and provides a semiconductor device including it. The present invention also provides a semiconductor device including the silicon-based thin films that has good adhesion and weather-resisting properties and that can be manufactured in a short tact time.

Process for forming a silicon-based film on a substrate using a temperature gradient across the substrate axis

A method for forming a deposited film, comprising generating plasma in a plurality of successive vacuum containers and continuously forming a deposited film on a belt-like substrate while continuously moving the substrate in its longitudinal direction, wherein an opening of a discharge container is adjusted with an opening adjusting plate having a shape set so as to reduce ununiformity of a deposited film thickness in a width direction of the substrate on the basis of a measurement of a deposition rate distribution. Accordingly, there is provided a method and an apparatus for forming a deposited film which are capable of producing a photovoltaic element without ununiformity in characteristics by depositing semiconductor layers without ununiformity in thickness and quality.

Method and apparatus for forming deposited film

A substrate-processing apparatus includes a substrate delivery chamber, a substrate-processing chamber and a substrate takeup chamber, wherein in the substrate delivery chamber, a web substrate and an interleaf are delivered from a delivery bobbin including the web substrate and the interleaf alternately wound while the web substrate delivered is transported into the substrate-processing chamber to process the web substrate therein and the interleaf delivered is wound on an interleaf takeup bobbin. In the substrate takeup chamber, the web substrate transported from the substrate-processing chamber and an interleaf delivered from an interleaf delivery bobbin are alternately wound in a roll form on a substrate takeup bobbin. The substrate-processing apparatus is provided with a mechanism for detecting transport abnormality of the interleaf either in the substrate delivery chamber or in the substrate takeup chamber.

A vacuum-processing apparatus comprising a vacuum vessel, a processing chamber arranged in the vacuum vessel and a heater for heating a circumferential wall of the processing chamber, wherein a substrate is arranged in the processing chamber and the substrate is vacuum-processed in the processing chamber, characterized in that the vacuum-processing apparatus has a cooling plate arranged at a position to oppose the circumferential wall of the processing chamber for cooling the circumferential wall of the processing chamber, and a mechanism for moving the cooling plate so as to change a distance between the cooling plate and the circumferential wall of the processing chamber.

Vacuum-processing apparatus using a movable cooling plate during processing

A film-forming apparatus which has at least a vacuum vessel whose inside is capable of being vacuumed and a film-forming chamber having a discharge region provided in said vacuum vessel and in which a substrate web having a desired width and a desired length is arranged so as to constitute a part of said film-forming chamber, wherein said substrate web is continuously moved to pass through said discharge region of said film-forming chamber to continuously form a deposited film on said substrate web, characterized in that said film-forming chamber is provided with an opening-adjusting member such that said opening-adjusting member constitutes an entrance or/and an exit of said film-forming chamber, and a face of said opening-adjusting member which is opposed to said substrate web has one or more grooves formed substantially in parallel to a direction for said substrate web to be transported.

Film-forming apparatus for forming a deposited film on a substrate, and vacuum-processing apparatus and method for vacuum-processing an object

To provide a deposited-film forming process and a deposited-film forming apparatus that may cause no scratches on the film forming surface to improve yield and enable stable discharge to thereby continuously form deposited films having uniform quality and uniform thickness, deposited films are formed by lengthwise continuously transporting a belt-like substrate so as to form a part of a discharge space, wherein the substrate is transported while bringing the transverse sectional shape of the substrate which forms a part of the discharge space into a curved shape by a roller.

Deposited-film forming process and deposited-film forming apparatus

A film forming method is described using an apparatus with a plurality of vacuum chambers which communicate with each other via a connection, where the apparatus has one or more detachable treatment rooms and where the method includes continuously forming a plurality of films on a band-shaped substrate within the treatment rooms, while continuously moving the substrate through the treatment rooms. The treatment rooms within said desired vacuum chambers are replaced after forming the film for a predetermined period as a part of the film forming method.

Film forming method

A film forming apparatus for forming a plurality of films on a substrate through a continuous process, comprising a plurality of vacuum chambers in communication to each other via connection, at least vacuum chamber having internally a treatment detachable from the vacuum chamber for fulfilling a predetermined treatment on the substrate.

Film forming apparatus

A process is provided for producing a photovoltaic element which has at least one pin junction, and a buffering semiconductor layer constituted of plural sublayers between an n-type layer and an i-type layer and/or between an i-type layer and a p-type layer, through production steps of introducing a source material gas into an electric discharge space in a reaction chamber, and decomposing the source material gas by plasma discharge to form a non-monocrystalline semiconductor layer. In the process, in electric discharge generation for formation of at least one of the sublayers, the polarity of the electrode confronting the substrate for formation of a first sublayer and the polarity of the electrode confronting the substrate for formation of a second sublayer adjacent to the first sublayer is made different from each other, or the potential of one of the electrodes is set at zero volt. Thereby, diffusion of the dopant from the p-type layer or the n-type layer into the i-type layer is prevented effectively. The produced photovoltaic element is improved in the output properties, the open-circuit voltage, and the fill factor, and these properties deteriorate less.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Koichiro Moriyama