CVD apparatus and method for forming CVD film

Abstract

Heretofore, silicon nitride film formed by low pressure plasma CVD has been used for an antireflection film of a solar battery. But it is difficult to reduce the production cost of a solar battery, because, in a low pressure process, facility cost and process cost are expensive. As disclosed, a nitride film is formed by atmospheric pressure plasma CVD using dielectric barrier discharge generated by a plasma head where a plurality of plasma head unit parts is installed in parallel to generate plasma by applying electric field or magnetic field via a dielectric member. Stable glow discharge is formed even under atmospheric pressure by dielectric barrier discharge. And nitride film deposition under atmospheric pressure and low cost production of a solar battery is materialized by using dielectric barrier discharge and by reacting different plasmas generated from plasma supply openings laying side-by-side.

Claims

1. A plasma CVD apparatus, comprising: plural flow passage plates, the flow passage plates being stacked, each flow passage plate having a gas passage and a gas outlet side, each of the flow passage plates respectively also having a discharge electrode located at an end face of the gas outlet side, each discharge electrode composed of a ceramic member having a hollow portion; and an electrode wire located in each hollow portion and not making contact with the ceramic member, wherein a layer made of emitter material is formed on the surface of the electrode wire, and the emitter material has a smaller work function than the material of the electrode.

2. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter material has a perovskite-type crystal structure.

3. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter material is more than or equal to one chemical compound selected from the chemical compound group comprising TiSrO, MgO, TiO.

4. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter layer is formed by a process wherein material of emitter layer is torn into pieces in a mortar, and resultant powder is solved in water, and the solution mixed with glue is coated on the surface of the electrode wire, and emitter layer is formed by sintering of coated wire.

5. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter layer is formed by MOCVD.

6. A plasma CVD apparatus, comprising: plural stacked flow passage plates; plural discharge electrodes, each flow passage plate having a gas outlet side, each of the flow passage plates having a respective one of the plural discharge electrodes located at the gas outlet side, each discharge electrode composed of a ceramic member having a hollow portion; and an electrode wire located in each hollow portion and not making contact with the ceramic member, wherein a layer made of emitter material is formed on the surface of the electrode wire, and the emitter material has a smaller work function than the material of the electrode.

7. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the emitter material has a perovskite-type crystal structure.

8. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the emitter material is more than or equal to one chemical compound selected from the chemical compound group comprising TiSrO, MgO, TiO.

9. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the emitter layer is formed by a process wherein material of emitter layer is torn into pieces in a mortar, and resultant powder is solved in water, and the solution mixed with glue is coated on the surface of the electrode wire, and emitter layer is formed by sintering of coated wire.

10. The plasma CVD apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the emitter layer is formed by MOCVD.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagram of the structure of an electrode in a CVD apparatus according to the present invention.

(2) FIGS. 2(a), (b) are diagrams to show process steps to fabricate the electrode in a CVD apparatus according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head according to the first specific example of the present invention. FIGS. 3(b), (c) are side view diagrams of a plasma head according to the first specific example of the present invention.

(4) FIGS. 4(a), (b) are respectively a front view diagram and a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the second specific example of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 5(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head unit member according to the first specific example of the present invention.

(6) FIGS. 5(b), (c) is a side view diagram of a plasma head unit member according to the first specific example of the present invention.

(7) FIG. 6(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head unit member according to the second specific example of the present invention. FIGS. 6(b), (c) is a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the second specific example of the present invention.

(8) FIG. 7(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head unit member according to the third specific example of the present invention.

(9) FIGS. 7(b), (c) is a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the third specific example of the present invention.

(10) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional diagram of a CVD apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(11) FIGS. 9(a), (b), (c) are cross-sectional diagrams of a plasma head in a CVD apparatus according to of the embodiment of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram of a plasma head in a CVD apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(13) FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional diagram of a flow passage plate in a CVD apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(14) FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional diagram of a flow passage plate in a conventional CVD apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYMBOLS

(15) 1, 2, 3: plasma head unit member

(16) 4, 11, 15: gas inlet

(17) 5, 12, 16: dielectric member

(18) 6, 13, 17: plasma generation passage

(19) 7, 14, 18: plasma supply opening

(20) 8, 9: electrode

(21) 10: shock absorbing member

(22) 21, 22, 23: plasma head unit member

(23) 24, 35: gas distribution passage

(24) 25, 33: dielectric member

(25) 26, 36: plasma generation passage

(26) 27, 37: plasma supply opening

(27) 28, 29: electrode

(28) 30: shock absorbing member

(29) 31: gas distribution passage region

(30) 32: plasma generation passage region

(31) 34: gas supply pipe

(32) 41, 47, 51: gas introduction opening

(33) 42, 48, 52: dielectric member

(34) 43, 49, 53: plasma generation passage

(35) 44, 50, 54: plasma supply opening

(36) 45, 46: electrode

(37) 61, 66, 71: gas introduction opening

(38) 62, 67, 72: dielectric member

(39) 63, 68, 73: plasma generation passage

(40) 65, 70, 75: plasma supply opening

(41) 64, 69, 74: induction coil

(42) 81, 88, 95: gas introduction opening

(43) 82, 89, 96: dielectric member

(44) 83, 90, 97: plasma generation passage

(45) 85, 91, 98: plasma supply opening

(46) 84, 92, 99: induction coil

(47) 86, 87, 93, 94: coil terminal

(48) 101, 102: source gas supply unit

(49) 103: power source

(50) 104: plasma head

(51) 105, 106: plasma

(52) 107: plasma reaction region

(53) 108: thin film

(54) 109: substrate

(55) 110: substrate conveyance unit

(56) 111: gas introduction opening

(57) 112: power source

(58) 113: container

(59) 114, 115: electrode

(60) 116, 117: solid dielectric body

(61) 118: plasma

(62) 119: plasma supply opening

(63) 120: thin film

(64) 121: substrate

(65) 201, 202: flow passage plate

(66) 203, 204: quartz member

(67) 205, 206: electrode wire

(68) 207, 208: gas flow direction

(69) 209: substrate

(70) 210: support member

(71) 211, 215: quartz member

(72) 212, 216: electrode wire

(73) 213, 217: electrode lead wire

(74) 214: opening

(75) 218: enclosing member

(76) 301, 306, 311, 321: flow passage plate

(77) 302, 307, 312, 322: discharge electrode

(78) 303, 308, 313, 323: plasma

(79) 304, 309, 314, 324: substrate

(80) 305, 310, 315, 325: dielectric substrate

(81) 326: electrode for applying bias voltage

(82) 327: power source for applying bias voltage

(83) 328: positive argon ion

(84) 331, 335, 339: flow passage plate

(85) 332, 336, 340: flow passage

(86) 333, 334, 337, 338, 341, 342: dielectric member

BEST MODE EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(87) Best mode embodiments for carrying out the present invention are described in detail as follows.

(88) (Glow Discharge by Dielectric-Barrier Discharge)

(89) Inventors of the present invention have earnestly studied plasma deposition for realization of silicon nitride CVD under atmospheric pressure. First they have employed plasma-blowing deposition for preventing plasma damage on a substrate, and have employed plasma formation by dielectric-barrier discharge for stable glow discharge. In order to prevent plasma reaction in a plasma generation chamber which was a problem of conventional method, a plasma head, which is a plasma generation member, is composed of a plurality of unit parts respectively having an independent plasma blow opening. For example, silicon plasma and nitrogen plasma are generated separately in each unit part in silicon nitride CVD process. Furthermore inventors have discovered that the parallel configuration wherein a unit part for silicon plasma generation is placed next to a unit part for nitrogen plasma generation is effective for improvement in uniformity of deposited film. Plasma supplied from a blow opening does not react in a plasma head, but it reacts in a space between a blow opening and a substrate to deposit silicon nitride film. Therefore highly effective silicon nitride deposition on a substrate becomes possible. And also, material gases are supplied independently to each unit parts of the plasma head, and electrodes are placed so that electrical energy can be controlled independently which is applied for plasma generation. By these arrangements, thin film deposition becomes possible using best conditions for each plasma generation.

(90) And also, in conventional method, there is a problem that it is difficult to generate continuously stable plasma when plasma is generated under atmospheric pressure. Inventors of the present invention have taken notice of the structure of an electrode and the structure of apart where a substrate is placed. And they have discovered that stable plasma generation, the enhancement of nitride film deposition rate, and the improvement of reproducibility in film thickness and film quality become possible by the arrangement wherein an electrode is enclosed in a quartz member, and the electrode is separated from the quartz member by empty space, and a substrate is placed on a quartz supporting member, and plasma is supplied from a plasma head to the substrate.

(91) In addition, “atmospheric pressure” in this specification specifically means pressure between 8×10.sup.4 and 12×10.sup.4 Pa, while it depends on the atmospheric pressure and the altitude of the place where the CVD apparatus is placed. When the pressure of CVD process is within this range, it is possible to reduce facility cost because expensive equipment for compression and decompression is not needed.

(92) (Specific Example of an Electrode Structure)

(93) FIG. 1 is a diagram of the structure in a CVD apparatus according to the present invention. Quartz members 203, 204 are placed in the gas blowout openings of flow passage plates 201, 202 where process gas flows, and electrode wires 205, 206 are placed in the hollow portion of the quartz members 203, 204. Electrical energy due to discharge between electrode wires 205, 206 and a substrate 209 is applied to gas molecules of process gas which blows out from the gas blowout openings of flow passage plates 201, 202. Then the molecules are transformed into plasma which is supplied to the substrate 209, and silicon nitride film is deposited on the substrate 209 by the reaction of ions in the plasma. Electrode wires 205, 206 are preferably placed in the hollow portion of the quartz members 203, 204 without direct contact between them. The ambient of the hollow portion is preferably vacuum state or low-pressure state. When the ambient is low-pressure state, gas enclosed in the hollow portion is preferably noble gas such as Ar, or Ne. Preferable range of the low pressure is less than or equal to 250 Torr. Plasma is spontaneously generated by less power supply, and stable plasma generation becomes possible by uniform discharge when the hollow portion is evacuated or depressurized at the pressure less than or equal to 250 Torr with the ambient of noble gas. Flow passage plates 201, 202 are fabricated, for example, by processing aluminum plate. The substrate 209 is preferably placed on a quartz supporting member 210. Then the stability of plasma is enhanced. The shape of the quartz members 203, 204 is not limited to the specific shape if they have long hollow part so that linear electrode can be placed inside. The cross-sectional shape of the hollow portion is not limited to the specific shape, but it is preferably a circle. And the quartz members are preferably equipped with convex parts so that they can be set in the flow passage plates. The flow passage plates are equipped with concave parts corresponding to the convex parts. Alternatively, the quartz members can be equipped with concave parts and the flow passage plates can be equipped with convex parts corresponding to the concave parts.

(94) And also, electrodes can be placed under the supporting member 210 for controlling bias voltage applied to the plasma. In this case, electrodes placed above the substrate 209, such as electrodes 205, 206, are called as upper electrodes, and electrodes placed under the substrate 209 (under the supporting member 210) are called as lower electrodes.

(95) As shown in FIG. 1, main body of a flow passage plate and an electrode can be fabricated as separate parts, and can be set in using tenon and mortise. Alternatively, an electrode can be placed under the flow passage plate using a retainer. A process to make mortise trench is not necessary, and it becomes easier to remove and replace these parts. And also, main body of a flow passage plate and an electrode can be fabricated by integral molding. The process to fabricate an apparatus becomes easier. A flow passage can be processed after the integral molding of a flow passage plate and an electrode. Or it can be processed at the same time as the integral molding.

(96) It is found that plasma is not generated when nitrogen or ammonia gas which is process gas for nitride film deposition is introduced from the beginning of the process, but plasma can be generated when Ar gas is introduced. Therefore, it is found that plasma which is necessary for nitride film deposition can be stably generated by process steps characterized in that plasma is generated by introducing Ar gas first, and then the number of electrons is increased, and then the flow rate of nitrogen or ammonia gas is gradually increased.

(97) In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, electrode wires are not placed in direct contact with quartz members, and they are placed as floating status in a hollow portion. Alternatively, electrode wires can be placed in direct contact with quartz members without making a hollow portion, which makes fabrication of plasma head easier. The material of electrode wires or metal foil is preferably Mo or Mo alloy. Mo or Mo alloy is highly adhesive with ceramics.

(98) The material of an insulating member of the electrode which corresponds to the above-mentioned members 203, 204 is preferably ceramics in both cases where a hollow portion is prepared or not around the electrode. Furthermore the material is preferably quartz or translucent alumina. And the material of the flow passage plate is preferably heat-resistant metal or ceramics.

(99) The structure of an electrode used in the conventional CVD apparatus is the structure where carbon members are exposed, so there is a leakage problem of impurities included in carbon material. Meanwhile, there is no leakage problem of impurities in the structure of the electrode according to the present invention wherein an electrode wire is covered by a quartz tube.

(100) The material of an electrode wire is preferably W. It is more preferably W which contains Th or ThO. The content of Th is preferably less than or equal to 4% by weight. This arrangement reduces the work function of the electrode wire, and facilitates the emission of thermal electrons so that plasma can be easily generated.

(101) It is preferable that an electrode wire is entirely heated by appropriate external current supply to the wire. When the temperature of the wire is low, nitride or silicon film can be deposited on the surface of the electrode. Then it is not preferable because the flow passage may be reduced in thickness or clogged up. To the contrary, it is possible to prevent the growth of deposited material on the surface of the electrode by heating it. And also, it is possible to control the work function of metal such as Th or PTO which is added to electrode material such as W by controlling the temperature of the electrode. By these arrangements, electron density emitted from metal can be controlled so that CVD process can be controlled more precisely.

(102) And radioactive material is preferably coated on the surface of electrode material. For example, strontium is preferably coated. Plasma can be easily excited by coating radioactive material.

(103) And also, material with smaller work function than the material of the electrode is preferably used as emitter material, and a layer of the emitter material is preferably formed on the surface of the electrode wire. Material with perovskite-type crystal structure is preferably used as the emitter material. And more than or equal to one chemical compound selected from the chemical compound group comprising TiSrO, MgO, TiO is preferably used as the material. Any of these arrangements reduces the work function of the electrode wire, and facilitates the emission of thermal electrons so that plasma can be easily generated.

(104) The emitter layer is formed by a process wherein material of emitter layer is torn into pieces in a mortar, and resultant powder is solved in water, and the solution mixed with glue is coated on the surface of the electrode wire, and emitter layer is formed by sintering of coated wire. Or it can be formed by MOCVD. When the electrode wire is formed with coil-like shape, space formed in the electrode can be sufficiently filled by emitter material. And the emitter layer can be formed more densely, and its composition ratio can be improved.

(105) And also, a quartz electrode placed in a quartz member is preferably used not only for an electrode for high frequency radiation but also used for a heater. The temperature control of a body on which deposition film is formed can be controlled, for example, by heating, by using the quartz electrode as a heater.

(106) (Method for Fabricating an Electrode)

(107) FIGS. 2(a), (b) are diagrams to show process steps to fabricate the electrode in a CVD apparatus according to the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 2(a), a quartz member 214 with a hollow portion is prepared having one terminal with an opening 214 and the other closed terminal. As an electrode wire 212, for example, a wire made of Ni or Ni alloy is used. In FIG. 2, a linear electrode wire is shown, but an electrode wire with coil-like shape is preferably used. The surface area of the electrode can be enlarged, and the discharge area can be also enlarged by using an electrode with coil-like shape. A lead wire 213 is attached on the terminal of an electrode 212. As a lead wire, for example, metal foil with a thickness of about 20 μm made of Mo or Mo alloy is used. Next, the inside of the quartz member 211 is depressurized until the pressure reaches to vacuum or less than or equal to 250 Torr. Then the opening 214 is enclosed as shown in FIG. 2(b). According to these process steps, an electrode member is completed where an electrode 216 is supported by a lead wire 217 in a floating state without contact with a quartz member 215.

(108) Noble gas such as Ar or Ne is preferably used for filler gas when a hollow portion is depressurized. It is more preferable that clean gas such as Ar with impurity concentration less than or equal to 10 ppb is introduced as purge gas into the hollow portion before the filler gas is introduced.

(109) (The First Specific Example of a Unit Part of a Plasma Head)

(110) FIGS. 5(a), (c) is respectively a front view diagram and a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the first specific example of the present invention. The first specific example of a unit part is a unit part of a plasma head to generate capacitance coupling plasma. The unit part comprises a dielectric member 42 and a pair of electrodes 45, 46 which hold a dielectric member 42. The dielectric member 42 is equipped with a hole which passes through from top down, and the hole functions as a plasma generation passage. The dielectric member 42 can be formed as an integral member, or it can be formed by pasting or fitting a plurality of members together. When the dielectric member is composed of a plurality of members, it is preferably processed so that no leakage occurs at a joint part. One end of the hole is used as a gas introduction opening 41. Then electrical field is applied to the electrode 45, 46 which provides electrical energy to introduced gas molecules to generate plasma made of radicals, ions, and electrons. Constant, high-frequency, or pulsed electrical field can be preferably applied. Especially, pulsed electrical field can be preferably applied. Electrical field is applied via dielectric member, so even when constant electrical field is applied, accumulation and extinction of charge are repeated one after the other on the surface of dielectric member. Accordingly, plasma discharge state does not reach to be arc discharge but becomes stable glow discharge. Generated plasma blows out from plasma supply opening 50 which is the other end of the hole. The range where plasma is supplied depends on the condition of plasma generation, but generally speaking, plasma is supplied in the range of several mm-several cm from plasma supply opening 50. As shown in the side view diagram of FIG. 3(b), the unit part can be equipped with one plasma supply opening. And as shown in FIG. 5(c), it can be equipped with a plurality of plasma supply openings. When a deposition process is applied on a small substrate, plasma can be supplied from one plasma supply opening. When a deposition process is applied on a large substrate, plasma is preferably supplied from a plurality of plasma supply openings for better uniformity of deposition.

(111) And also it is not necessary that a hole is prepared for a gas passage in dielectric member as shown in FIG. 5. A space between dielectric members can be used as a gas passage when the dielectric members are placed parallel to each other with a space between them.

(112) Material of dielectric members is preferably plastic, glass, carbon dioxide, metal oxide such as aluminum oxide. Especially, quartz glass is preferably used. Dielectric material with relative permittivity greater than or equal to 2 is preferably used. Dielectric material with relative permittivity greater than or equal to 10 is more preferably used. The thickness of dielectric material is preferably in the range from 0.01 mm to 4 mm. If it is too thick, excessively high voltage is necessary for plasma generation. If it is too thin, arc discharge tends to take place.

(113) Material of electrode is preferably metal such as copper, aluminum, stainless-steel or metal alloy. The distance between electrodes, which depends on the thickness of dielectric member and applied voltage, is preferably in the range from 0.1 mm to 50 mm.

(114) (The Structure of a Plasma Head)

(115) (The First Specific Example of a Plasma Head)

(116) FIG. 3(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head according to the first specific example of the present invention. FIGS. 3(b), (c) are side view diagrams of a plasma head according to the first specific example of the present invention. Plasma head is formed by sequentially installing one of a plurality of unit parts adjacent to the other including plasma head unit members 1, 2, 3. In FIG. 3(a), plasma head unit parts are placed in parallel by inserting shock absorbing member 10 between the plasma head unit members. The shock absorbing member is not always an indispensable part for the plasma head structure. But it is useful for preventing the damage of dielectric member 5 by inserting the shock absorbing member when the dielectric member 5 is made of material subject to breakage such as glass and a plurality of plasma head unit parts is fixed by clenching. According to the structure of unit parts used, a plasma head can be equipped with one plasma supply opening as shown in the side view diagram in FIG. 3(b), and it can be equipped with a plurality of plasma supply openings as shown in FIG. 3(c).

(117) (The Second Specific Example of a Plasma Head)

(118) FIGS. 4(a), (b) are respectively a front view diagram and a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the second specific example of the present invention. Plasma head is formed by sequentially installing one of a plurality of unit parts adjacent to the other including plasma head unit members 21, 22, 23. As shown in the side view diagram in FIG. 2(b), plasma head is equipped with a plurality of plasma supply openings. A dielectric member 35 is processed so that it is equipped with a hollow portion inside. This hollow portion functions as a gas distribution passage and a plasma generation passage. A hollow portion can be formed in the dielectric member as an integral part. Or a hollow portion can be formed by that a concave part is formed in one dielectric plate and the other plate is bonded to the former plate. Material gas for plasma generation is supplied from gas supply opening 34. A gas distribution passage region is formed is formed in the upper part of the dielectric member 35, the region which distributes gas supplied from the gas supply opening 34 into a plurality of plasma generation pas sages 36. According to this structure, material gas can be equally supplied to many plasma generation members using a simple structure so as to contribute downsizing of CVD apparatus.

(119) (The Structure of a CVD Apparatus)

(120) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional diagram of a CVD apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. A CVD apparatus consists of a source gas supply unit 101 supplying the first gas, a source gas supply unit 102 supplying the second gas, a plasma head 104 which is formed by sequentially installing a plasma head unit part adjacent to a shock absorbing member, a power supply which supplies electrical power to the plasma head unit part, and a substrate conveyance unit 110 which conveys substrates. A plasma head unit part consists of a dielectric member equipped with plasma generation passage and an electrode. Material gas is introduced from the upper gas introduction opening, and electric field is applied by an electrode via a dielectric member to excite the material gas for generating plasma comprising radicals, ions, and electrons. Generated plasma is supplied from a plasma supply opening to a substrate 109 placed on the substrate conveyance unit 110. A deposition process is carried out while substrates are conveyed by a substrate conveyance unit which enables consecutive deposition. The shape of the substrate is preferably band-like shape which is conveyed by roll-to-roll process. Or another process can be adopted in which a substrate is placed on a static position during deposition process, and after the deposition is finished, the substrate is conveyed so that the next substrate is in the deposition position by the substrate conveyance unit.

(121) In addition, a lower electrode which is not shown in the diagram is placed under the substrate 109, and it can apply bias voltage from under the substrate.

(122) Plasma supply openings can be placed downward as shown in FIG. 8, or they can be placed toward lateral direction. When plasma supply openings are placed downward, the uniformity of deposition can be improved. When they are placed toward lateral direction, the installation area of the apparatus can be minimized.

(123) Because plasma discharge is dielectric barrier discharge, plasma becomes stable glow discharge, and it becomes non-equilibrium plasma where the temperature of electrons is high and that of radicals and ions is low.

(124) When silicon nitride is deposited, for example, silane gas and ammonia gas are used as material gas. Silane gas and ammonia gas are supplied alternately to adjacent plasma head unit parts, and silicon plasma 105 and nitrogen plasma 106 are generated in each plasma generation passage. Silicon plasma and nitrogen plasma reach downward until several mm to several cm from plasma supply opening, then plasma reaction region 107 is formed.

(125) When silicon nitride is deposited, other silicon source gas or nitrogen source gas can be used. As silicon source gas, silane, disilane, or mixed gas made of these gases attenuated by inert gas can be used. As nitrogen source gas, ammonia, nitrogen, or mixed gas made of these gases attenuated by inert gas can be used.

(126) Silicon nitride film can be deposited by independently supplying silicon source gas and nitrogen source gas through flow passage plates laying side-by-side among a plurality of flow passage plates. During this process, it is possible to flow curtain-enclosed gas made of inert gas such as nitrogen through flow passage plates surrounding the plates for source gases. The flow rate of silicon source gas and nitrogen source gas can be independently controlled, which enables precise control of process conditions.

(127) Alternatively, silicon nitride film can be deposited by supplying a mixed gas made of silicon source gas and nitrogen source gas through identical flow passage plates. The configuration of an apparatus can be simplified.

(128) As another example of deposited film, silicon film can be deposited by not supplying nitrogen source gas but supplying silicon source gas.

(129) During the excitation of plasma for deposition process, it is preferable to cool down an electrode by introducing a mixed gas comprising or including noble gas (for example, Ar and N.sub.2) nearby the electrode in the flow passage plate. When an electrode is not cooled down, and the temperature of the electrode itself rises by plasma excitation, a film which is not a dielectric member in use or extraneous material is attached on the surface of the electrode, and the function of the electrode is disabled. To prevent this problem, it is preferable to circulate cooling gas in a temperature of about 20 deg C.

(130) And also, a movable dielectric member is preferably fit in a space in gas passage or flow passage plate through which process gas or carrier gas flows. Quartz is preferably used as a dielectric member. By this arrangement, it is possible to control the cross-sectional area of flow passage so that the controllability of the process can be improved. FIGS. 11(a), (b), (c) are cross-sectional diagrams of a flow passage plate in a CVD apparatus according to the practical example of the present invention. The cross-sectional area of a flow passage 332 (FIG. 11(a)) surrounded by a flow passage plate 331 and dielectric members 333, 334 can be controlled by moving the dielectric members 333, 334 as shown in a flow passage 336 (FIG. 11(b)) and a flow passage 340 (FIG. 11(c)). The flow rate of process gas can be controlled by controlling the cross-sectional area of a flow passage. For example, the flow rate can be increased by narrowing the cross-sectional area of a flow passage.

(131) (Plasma Generation Parameters)

(132) Process conditions to generate plasma are appropriately determined according to the purpose to utilize plasma. When capacitance coupling plasma is generated, plasma is generated by applying constant electric field, high frequency electric field, pulsed electric field, micro-wave electric field between a pair of electrodes. When electric field is applied other than constant electric field, the used frequency can be 13.56 MHz which is used in a general plasma apparatus, or it can be higher than or lower than 13.56 MHz. In Patent Document 6, a technology to prevent plasma damage on the deposited film by using high frequency plasma of 100 MHz in a plasma apparatus is disclosed. By controlling the frequency of electric field, characteristics such as deposition rate, the quality of deposited film can be optimized.

(133) Pulsed electric field is preferably used for plasma generation. Its field intensity is preferably in the range from 10 to 1000 kV/cm. Its frequency is preferably higher than or equal to 0.5 kHz.

(134) (Inductive Coupling Plasma Apparatus)

(135) (The Second Specific Example of a Unit Part of a Plasma Head)

(136) Technical idea concerning plasma head according to the present invention is not limited to be applied for a plasma head for capacitance coupling plasma, but for example, it can be applied for a plasma head for inductive coupling plasma.

(137) FIG. 6(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head unit member according to the second specific example of the present invention. FIGS. 6(b), (c) is a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the second specific example. The unit part consists of a dielectric members 62 and an inductive coil 64 circumferentially placed adjacent to the member. The dielectric members 62 is equipped with a hole which passes through from top down, and the hole functions as a plasma generation passage. The dielectric member 62 can be formed as an integral member, or it can be formed by pasting or fitting a plurality of members together. When the dielectric member is composed of a plurality of members, it is preferably processed so that no leakage occurs at a joint part. One end of the hole is used as a gas introduction opening 61. Then electrical current is applied to the inductive coil 64, and generated magnetic field provides magnetic energy to introduced gas molecules to generate plasma made of radicals, ions, and electrons. Plasma discharge state becomes stable glow discharge. Generated plasma blows out from plasma supply opening 65 which is the other end of the hole. The range where plasma is supplied depends on the condition of plasma generation, but generally speaking, plasma is supplied in the range of several mm-several cm from plasma supply opening 65. As shown in the side view diagram of FIG. 6(b), the unit part can be equipped with one plasma supply opening. And as shown in FIG. 6(c), it can be equipped with a plurality of plasma supply openings. When a deposition process is applied on a small substrate, plasma can be supplied from one plasma supply opening. When a deposition process is applied on a large substrate, plasma is preferably supplied from a plurality of plasma supply openings for better uniformity of deposition.

(138) (The Third Specific Example of a Plasma Head)

(139) FIG. 7(a) is a front view diagram of a plasma head unit member according to the third specific example of the present invention. FIGS. 7(b), (c) is a side view diagram of a plasma head according to the third specific example. The unit part consists of a dielectric members 82 and an inductive coil 84 placed adjacent to the member. The dielectric members 82 is equipped with a hole which passes through from top down, and the hole functions as a plasma generation passage 83. The dielectric member can be formed as an integral member, or it can be formed by pasting or fitting a plurality of members together. When the dielectric member is composed of a plurality of members, it is preferably processed so that no leakage occurs at a joint part. The terminals 86, 87 of the inductive coil 84 are placed well away from each other so that they are not electrically shorted. One end of the hole is used as a gas introduction opening 81. Then electrical current is applied to the inductive coil 84, and generated magnetic field provides magnetic energy to introduced gas molecules to generate plasma made of radicals, ions, and electrons. Plasma discharge state becomes stable glow discharge. Generated plasma blows out from plasma supply opening 85 which is the other end of the hole. The range where plasma is supplied depends on the condition of plasma generation, but generally speaking, plasma is supplied in the range of several mm-several cm from plasma supply opening 85. As shown in the side view diagram of FIG. 7(b), the unit part can be equipped with one plasma supply opening. And as shown in FIG. 7(c), it can be equipped with a plurality of plasma supply openings. When a deposition process is applied on a small substrate, plasma can be supplied from one plasma supply opening. When a deposition process is applied on a large substrate, plasma is preferably supplied from a plurality of plasma supply openings for better uniformity of deposition.

(140) (Method for Producing a Plasma Head)

(141) (Bonding Method)

(142) To fabricate dielectric members making up a plasma head according to the present invention, it is necessary to process a hollow portion with a complicated shape such as a plasma generation passage and a gas distribution passage. Such a dielectric member with a hollow portion can be fabricated by bonding dielectric members with a hollow portion or by bonding a dielectric member with a hollow portion and a flat dielectric member after forming a hollow portion on the surface of a plurality of dielectric members.

(143) A plasma head unit part is formed by stacking an electrode or an inductive coil on the dielectric member with a hollow portion formed by this way. Furthermore, a plasma head is formed by stacking a plurality of plasma head unit parts via a shock absorbing member made of material such as Teflon™.

(144) (Injection Molding Method)

(145) A plasma head unit part can be fabricated by an injection molding method. A hydraulic core and an electrode or an inductive coil are placed in a mold, and material of a dielectric member is injected in the mold, then a fabricated part is unmolded and the hydraulic core is removed with the electrode or the inductive coil left behind. Furthermore, a plasma head is formed by stacking a plurality of plasma head unit parts via a shock absorbing member made of material such as Teflon™.

(146) (Points of Difference with Similar Technologies)

(147) In Patent Document 4, a process to reform the property or sterilize on the surface of an object by blowing out plasma to the object is disclosed, the plasma generated by dielectric discharge from a plasma head formed by bundling a plurality of dielectric thin tubes. A plurality of plasma supply openings is equipped in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 4, but gas inlets and electrodes to generate plasma of each thin tube do not function independently. And there is no description to suggest a technology where gas inlets and electrodes are independently equipped in each thin tube. Therefore it is not easy to invent a technology according to the present invention wherein a plurality of different plasmas is generated in a plurality of plasma generation units, and plasma reaction is carried out in a space between a plasma head and a substrate by referring to this document.

(148) In Patent Document 5, a process to form an organic thin film including metal such as silicon oxide by a reaction of gas including metal such as TEOS and oxygen is disclosed. But the technology described in Patent Document 5 is a technology wherein a thin film is formed by mixing and reacting reaction gas which is in plasma state and metal-including gas which is not in plasma state. Therefore this technology is different from the technology of the present invention wherein a plasma head is composed of a plurality of unit parts installed in parallel, and different plasmas are generated in each unit part, and film deposition is carried out by the reaction between the different plasmas. The technology according to the present invention is a technology wherein a plurality of plasma supply openings to generate different plasmas can be very closely and densely placed by stacking alternately a plurality of dielectric members and electrodes. Therefore it is not easy to invent a technology according to the present invention by referring to this document.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

(149) As above mentioned, by using a CVD apparatus and a method for forming CVD film according to the present invention, low cost production of a high quality nitride film can be materialized for the purpose of, for example, forming antireflection film of a solar battery, which makes a huge contribution to the field of electronics.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(150) Several embodiments of a method for forming CVD film according to the present invention are described in detail as follows, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

Preferred Embodiment 1

(151) (The First Test on Electrodes)

(152) Minimum supply voltage necessary to spontaneously generate plasma was measured by setting different several conditions for the ambient of a hollow portion and gas which flows in the flow passage plate in order to investigate optimum conditions for plasma generation for an electrode (upper electrode) with a hollow portion according to the present invention. For comparison, the voltage was measured for an electrode without a hollow portion. And also, a flow passage plate was formed using ceramic members, and a gas flow passage was formed on the lateral side of the flow passage plate.

(153) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Minimum RF power (W) necessary for spontaneously generating plasma Gas (carrier gas) which flows in a flow passage plate Ar 70% Ambient in a hollow portion Ar 100% Ar 85% N.sub.2 15% N.sub.2 30% Ar gas enclosed at 50 Torr 500 900 2000 (W) Ar gas enclosed at 250 Torr 700 1100 1800 Ar gas enclosed at 500 Torr 800 1600 2000 Ne gas enclosed at 50 Torr 400 1000 2200 Ne gas enclosed at 250 Torr 600 1100 1700 Ne gas enclosed at 500 Torr 900 1500 2100 Atmospheric pressure 600 1500 1300 Vacuum 500 1500 2100 Without a hollow portion 600 1000 2100

(154) In addition, members as follows were used for the components of a discharge electrode.

(155) An electrode wire: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used

(156) Ceramic member: quartz

(157) It was found that an optimum CVD condition was when RF power necessary for spontaneously generating plasma was less than or equal to 700 W because spark discharge was not generated and plasma state was stable. And it was found that Ar gas not including N.sub.2 was preferable for carrier gas flowing in a flow passage plate to maintain stable plasma. And it was found that vacuum or Ar gas enclosed at less than or equal to 250 Torr was preferable as an ambient of a hollow portion. And according to the other experiment using other gases as enclosed gas, excellent result was obtained when noble gas such as Ne was used as carrier gas and enclosed gas in the hollow portion, the result being similar to the result when Ar was used.

Preferred Embodiment 2

(158) (The Second Test on Electrodes)

(159) Next, minimum RF power necessary for spontaneous plasma generation was measured using an electrode formed according to the present invention by changing the material of members and the condition of gas which flows in a flow passage plate. Discharge electrodes were equipped with hollow portions filled with noble gas at a pressure of 250 Torr. The flow passage plate was made of heat resisting metal and flow passages were formed along the side of the plate.

(160) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Minimum RF power (W) necessary for spontaneously generating plasma Gas (carrier gas) Ambient which flows in a flow passage plate in a hollow portion Ar 100% Ar 85% N.sub.2 15% Ar 70% N.sub.2 30% Condition 1 700 1000 1700 (W) Condition 2 800 1100 1800 Condition 3 600 900 1600 Condition 4 800 1000 1800 Condition 5 1000 1300 2100 Condition 6 700 1000 1700 Condition 7 700 1100 1600 Condition 8 600 1000 1600
Condition 1: a linear electrode wire made of Ni alloy, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz, Ni—W alloy was used as Ni alloy.
Condition 2: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo alloy, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz, Mo—W alloy was used as Mo alloy.
Condition 3: a linear electrode wire made of W including 1 weight % of Th, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 4: a linear electrode wire made of W including 4 weight % of Th, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 5: a linear electrode wire made of W including 10 weight % of Th, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 6: a linear electrode wire made of W including 4 weight % of ThO, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 7: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of translucent alumina.
Condition 8: a coiled electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz.

Preferred Embodiment 3

(161) (The Third Test on Electrodes)

(162) Next, minimum RF power necessary for spontaneous plasma generation was measured using an electrode formed according to the present invention by changing a layer made of emitter material formed on the surface of an electrode wire and the condition of gas which flows in a flow passage plate. Discharge electrodes were equipped with hollow portions filled with noble gas at a pressure of 250 Torr.

(163) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Minimum RF power (W) necessary for spontaneously generating plasma Gas (carrier gas) Atmosphere which flows in a flow passage plate in a hollow portion Ar 100% Ar 85% N.sub.2 15% Ar 70% N.sub.2 30% Condition 9 800 1100 1800 (W) Condition 10 600 900 1500 Condition 11 700 1000 1400 Condition 12 700 900 1600 Condition 13 600 900 1600 Condition 14 700 1000 1500 Condition 15 700 900 1400
Condition 9: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz, Ni—W alloy was used as Ni alloy.
Condition 10: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was made of TiSrO having perovskite type crystal structure formed by glue coating and firing, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 11: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was made of MgO having perovskite type crystal structure formed by glue coating and firing, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 12: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was made of TiO having perovskite type crystal structure formed by glue coating and firing, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 13: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was made of TiSrO having perovskite type crystal structure formed by MOCVD, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 14: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was made of MgO having perovskite type crystal structure formed by MOCVD, ceramic member was made of quartz.
Condition 15: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was made of TiO having perovskite type crystal structure formed by MOCVD, ceramic member was made of quartz.

Preferred Embodiment 4

(164) (The First Evaluation of Nitride Film)

(165) When atmospheric pressure plasma is generated by supplying power from RF or LF power source via electrodes prepared for dielectric-barrier discharge, it is possible to soften the collision energy of electrons or charged reactive molecules which collide the surface of a substrate so as to control substrate damage and enhance desired reaction by, for example, applying bias voltage to the lower electrode in addition to simply applying appropriate effective voltage between the upper electrode and the lower electrode. The film quality of silicon nitride film was evaluated which was deposited by applying bias voltage so that plasma was generated not only between an electrode and a substrate but also between an electrode and other electrode.

(166) FIGS. 9(a), (b), (c) are cross-sectional diagrams of a plasma head in a CVD apparatus according to of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9(a) is a diagram which shows a plasma generation state when a substrate was connected to ground potential and positive bias voltages and negative bias voltages were alternatively applied to a plurality of electrodes. FIG. 9(b) is a diagram which shows a plasma generation state when a substrate was connected to floating potential in FIG. 9(a). FIG. 9(c) is a diagram which shows a plasma generation state when a substrate was connected to ground potential and positive bias voltages were applied to all electrodes.

(167) Film quality was evaluated. In the case of FIG. 9(a), stable plasma was generated by glow discharge and a dense film was obtained. By contrast, in the case of FIGS. 9(b) and (c), stable plasma was generated by glow discharge but a less dense film was obtained in comparison to FIG. 9(a). In the case of FIG. 9(a), plasma is generated between neighboring electrodes, plasma region is wide, and deposition rate is large. And deposited film presumably receives less damage because collision of positive ions to a substrate is weakened.

(168) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 The deposition rate of silicon nitride film and its film quality evaluation (relative value) Conventional Film depsited thermal according to the present invention CVD film FIG. 9(a) FIG. 9(b) FIG. 9(c) Upper electrode (+) 200 (V) 200 200 voltage Upper electrode (−) 0  0 NA voltage Lower electrode (−) 0 float  0 voltage Deposition rate 10 20~40 15~35 10~30 Etching rate 10 10~30 40~60 40~60
Discharge electrode was made of the following members. Plasma excitation frequency was 13.56 MHz.
Electrode wires were placed in the hollow portion. The ambient of the hollow portion is vacuum state.
Electrode wire: a linear electrode wire made of Ni, one terminal was connected to a metal foil made of Mo, emitter material was not used, ceramic member was made of quartz.

(169) The technology according to the present invention was compared with nitride film deposition by conventional thermal CVD. In all the case of bias voltage application as shown in FIGS. 9(a), (b), (c), the increase of deposition rate was observed in the deposition method according to the present invention in comparison to the conventional method. Among these cases, especially high deposition rate was observed in the method as shown in FIG. 9(a). In addition, etching rate using buffered hydrofluoric acid for evaluation of the film quality of deposited film. When etching rate is lower, film quality is shown as being denser. By thermal CVD, the deposition of denser film is possible though deposition rate is low. Among CVD methods according to the present invention using a plasma head as shown in FIGS. 9(a), (b), (c), especially the film quality was found to be the densest by the method as shown in FIG. 9(a).

Preferred Embodiment 5

(170) (The Second Evaluation of Nitride Film

(171) The experiment of deposition and evaluation similar to the embodiment 4 was done by changing plasma excitation frequency.

(172) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Plasma excitation frequency: 10 MHz The deposition rate of silicon nitride film and its film quality evaluation (relative value) Film deposited according to the present invention FIG. 9(a) FIG. 9(b) FIG. 9(c) Upper electrode (+) voltage 200 (V) 200 200 Upper electrode (−) voltage 0  0 NA Lower electrode (−) voltage 0 float  0 Deposition rate 15~45 20~30 10~25 Etching rate 15~35 45~55 35~65

Preferred Embodiment 6

(173) In order to relax the damage of a substrate due to the collision of positive ions such as Ar ions, the effect of a method was evaluated, the method wherein a positive bias voltage was applied to the substrate. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram of a plasma head in a CVD apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. A dielectric substrate 325 was placed under the substrate 324, and an electrode for applying bias voltage 326 was placed under the dielectric substrate. Positive bias voltage was applied by a power source 327 to the electrode 326. And deposited film presumably receives less damage because collision of Ar positive ions 328 which moves from an electrode 322 to a substrate 324 is presumably weakened. The experiment showed that the quality of the deposited film was denser when positive bias voltage was applied by a power source 327 in comparison to the case when it was not applied.

(174) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Plasma excitation frequency: 20 MHz The deposition rate of silicon nitride film and its film quality evaluation (relative value) Film deposited according to the present invention FIG. 9(a) FIG. 9(b) FIG. 9(c) Upper electrode (+) voltage 200 V 200 200 Upper electrode (−) voltage 0  0 NA Lower electrode (−) voltage 0 float  0 Deposition rate 20~45 15~30 15~35 Etching rate 20~35 40~50 45~65

Preferred Embodiment 7

(175) In order to investigate a cooling effect by a discharge electrode, an electrode temperature was measured after Ar gas plasma was generated for one hour under RF power of 2000 W applied at 13.56 MHz. The electrode temperature was 150° C. when cooling down was not done. On the other hand, when cooling down was done using Ar gas or nitrogen gas, the temperature was 50° C. and 60° C. respectively, which showed that adequate cooling effect was obtained.