Ulvac, Inc.

Masaki Uematsu

Takakazu Yamada

Takeshi Masuda

Koukou Suu

Masahiko Kajinuma

Yutaka Nishioka

Hiroto Uchida

Nobuyuki Kato

Isao Kimura

Takehito Jinbo

A thin film-forming apparatus, for ensuring uniform plane distribution of properties of a film formed on a substrate surface, has a gas-supply portsupplying a gas mixture from a gas-mixing chamberto a shower head. The port is arranged at the peripheral portion on the bottom face of the gas-mixing chamber so that the gas mixture flows from the upper peripheral region of the head towards the center thereof. An exhaust portdischarging the exhaust gas generated in the film-forming chamberis arranged at a position lower than the level of a stageduring film-formation directing the exhaust gas towards the side wall of the chamberand discharging the exhaust gas through the exhaust port. The stageis designed to move freely up and down to adjust the distance between the shower headand substrate S.

Apparatus for the preparation of film

The present invention herein provides a shower head whose temperature can be controlled in consideration of the film-forming conditions selected and a thin film-manufacturing device which permits the stable and continuous formation of thin films including only a trace amount of particles while reproducing a good film thickness distribution and compositional distribution, and a high film-forming rate and which is excellent in the productivity and the mass-producing ability as well as a method for the preparation of such a film. The shower head is so designed that the shower head structure is incorporated into an upper cap of a film-forming vessel, that a heat-exchange means is disposed in the upper cap to thus control the temperature of the upper cap and to in turn allow heat-exchange to occur at the contact surface between a disk-like shower plate constituting the shower head surface and the upper cap and that the temperature of the shower head can be controlled in consideration of the film-forming conditions selected. A thin film-manufacturing device is equipped with the shower head in its film-forming vessel and a thin film is prepared using the device.

Shower head, device and method for manufacturing thin films

A gas head that, at low cost, is capable of suppressing any deactivation of radical gas and capable of uniformly introducing a raw material gas on a substrate; and a relevant thin-film manufacturing apparatus are provided. A gas head () according to the present invention includes a reactive gas introduction port (A) for introduction of a reactive gas, a plurality of raw material gas introduction ports (B) for introduction of a raw material gas, and a dispersion board () for dispersing the raw material gas, wherein the plurality of the raw material gas introduction ports (B) are disposed so as to surround the periphery of the reactive gas introduction port (A). The reactive gas having been introduced in the reactive gas introduction port (A) is mixed with the raw material gas having been introduced through a plurality of raw material gas introduction ports (B) and dispersed by means of the dispersion board (). Although the plurality of raw material gas introduction ports (B) are disposed around the reactive gas introduction port (A), they are not required to be minute holes such as shower holes.

Gas head and thin-film manufacturing apparatus

Film-forming apparatus including a film-forming vacuum chamber having a stage for a substrate, a chamber for mixing gas comprising a raw gas and a reactive gas connected to the film-forming chamber, a chamber for vaporizing the raw material, and a gas head for introducing the mixed gas into the film-forming chamber, disposed on the upper face of the film-forming chamber and opposed to the stage. Particle traps with controllable temperatures are positioned between the vaporization chamber and the mixing chamber and on the downstream side of the mixing chamber. When forming a thin film with the apparatus, a reactive gas and/or a carrier gas are passed through the film-forming chamber while opening a valve in a by-pass line, connecting the primary side to the secondary side of the particle trap arranged at the downstream side of the mixing chamber. The valve is then closed and the film-forming operation is initiated.

Film-forming apparatus and film-forming method

A thin film manufacturing system, wherein a stage for placing a substrate thereon is disposed within a vacuum reactor and a gas head for supplying a film forming gas to a central area on a top face of the vacuum reactor is arranged so that the gas head is opposed to the stage. A cylindrical sleeve member is disposed and comes in close contact with a side wall of the stage to surround a periphery of the stage. The height of the stage can be established at the position where the volume of a second space formed below the stage and connected to a vacuum discharge means is larger than that of a first space formed above the stage, in such a manner that an exhaust gas is isotropically discharged from the first space without causing any convection current therein through the interstice between the sleeve member and an inner wall surface constituting the reactor.

Mixing box, and apparatus and method for producing films

The present invention herein provide a thin film-manufacturing device and a thin film-manufacturing method which are excellent in the mass-production ability and productivity, which permit the stable and continuous production of films over a long period of time while reproducing a good film thickness distribution, a good compositional distribution and a high film-forming rate and controlling the number of particles generated during the film-formation to a lower level. The device is one serving as a CVD device in which a film-forming gas is introduced into a reaction chamber from the upper portion of the chamber serving as a reaction space, through a shower head and a film is formed on a heated substrate, wherein the device is so designed that the upper reaction space is constructed by the substrate-supporting stage which is free of any rotational motion or free of any elevating motion, the shower head and a deposition-inhibitory plate, that the substrate-supporting stage and the deposition-inhibitory plate are so arranged as to form, between them, a concentric gap or interstice serving as a gas-exhaust path through which an inert gas can flow from the upper portion of the gas-exhaust path along the deposition-inhibitory plate and that a lower space is formed on the secondary side of the gas-exhaust path.

Growing community of inventors

Shizuoka-ken, Japan

Masaki Uematsu