Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-03
2001-05-08
Barlow, John (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S040000, C347S070000, C347S095000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227658
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forming a thin film and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for forming a thin film using an ink-jet mechanism.
Conventionally, various methods for forming a thin film have been proposed in thin film formation of an LSI semiconductor device. As one of conventionally general methods in a field of an LSI semiconductor device, there is named a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. As another method, an SOG (Spin-On-Glass) method has also been used widely. These conventional methods are, however, not efficient, since an utilization efficiency of a film material is as low as about in the range of 5 to 20% and a majority of fed material is lost. Such a situation is specially problematic in the case where an expensive material is used as a material for forming a film. In a conventional method, a variation in thickness of a film formed is determined strictly by a pattern on a semiconductor substrate.
In a CVD method, a film thickness is dependent on a pattern density and it tends to be thinner in a higher density region. In an SOG method, a thickness of a formed film is dependent on a flow related with a viscosity of a film material and it is thinner in a broader region than in a narrower region. A control with flexibility on a semiconductor substrate is effective for executing process integration. For example, to form a thick film in a larger groove region is effective for obtaining a good planarity with a CMP (Chemical-Mechanical Polishing) method. CVD and SOG methods do not have such a controllability as can be understood from the above description. Moreover, a process tool requires that peripheral portions are free from a bead in order to protect a clamp mechanism from particle production. While, in general, the peripheral portion of a CVD film on a substrate is removed by 3 to 6 mm from the edge, this removal requires coating with photoresist, etching for removal of the film and other additional process steps including separation of the photoresist for removal of the peripheral bead, which causes a cost to be increased.
As mentioned above, in a conventional method for forming a thin film, there have been problems that utilization efficiency of a film material is low and a great amount of the material comes to be lost useless, a variation of a film thickness formed is severely determined by a pattern on a semiconductor substrate and additional process steps, which increase a cost, are necessary.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in light of such circumstances and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for forming a thin film, which is high in utilization efficiency of a film material, in which a variation of a film thickness formed is not determined by a pattern on a semiconductor substrate, and which minimizes increase in cost.
In order to achieve the above mentioned object, an apparatus for forming a thin film using an ink-jet mechanism according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a plate member with at least one row of plural nozzles arranged in a row; a receiving room for receiving a liquid material; a pressure room for keeping the liquid material supplied from the receiving room in a pressurized condition; a communicating hole communicating with a nozzle; and a driving section, wherein the pressure room is pressurized and thereby the liquid material in the pressure room is jet from the nozzle through the communicating hole by the driving section. In the thin film forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the driving section may comprise plural driving elements provided in a corresponding manner to the plural nozzles. In the thin film forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a driving element may be an piezoelectric element. In the thin film forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a moving device for moving the plate member may be further provided.
An apparatus for forming a thin film using an ink-jet mechanism according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: a plate member with at least one row of plural nozzles arranged in a row; a receiving portion having a receiving room for receiving a liquid material, a pressure room for keeping the liquid material supplied from the receiving room in a pressurized condition, and a communicating hole communicating with a nozzle, wherein an upper potion is sealed by the plate member; a driving section, wherein the pressure room is pressurized and thereby the liquid material in the pressure room is jetted from a nozzle through the communicating hole by the driving section. In the thin film forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the driving section may comprise plural driving elements provided in a corresponding manner to the plural nozzles in plural rows. In the thin film forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, a driving element may be an piezoelectric element. In the thin film forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, a moving device for moving the plate member may be further provided.
A method for forming a thin film using an ink-jet mechanism according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of: disposing a surface of a semiconductor substrate in such a manner that the surface is opposed to a nozzle array of an ink-jet head having at least one row of plural nozzles arranged in a row; and forming a film on a surface of the semiconductor substrate by jetting the liquid material from selected nozzles among the plural nozzles in the at least one row. In the thin film forming method according to the third aspect of the present invention, an atmosphere between a surface of a semiconductor substrate and a nozzle may be a part of a jetting liquid material, for instance, solvent of liquid material can be used to prevent a jet from drying. Similar solvent can be used also as substitution. In the thin film forming method according to the third aspect of the present invention, the step of jetting the liquid material may be a step of driving elements corresponding to selected nozzles among the plural driving elements arranged in a corresponding manner to the plural nozzles of at least one row. In the thin film forming method according to the third aspect of the present invention, a driving element may be a piezoelectric element.
A method of forming a thin film according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of: disposing a surface of a semiconductor substrate in such a manner that the surface of the semiconductor substrate is opposed to a nozzle array of an ink-jet head having plural rows of plural nozzles arranged in rows; and forming a film of a predetermined pattern on the surface of the semiconductor substrate by jetting the liquid material from nozzles selected from the plural nozzles. In the thin film forming method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the step of jetting may be a step of driving elements corresponding to selected nozzles among the plural driving elements arranged in a corresponding manner to the plural nozzles of plural rows. In the thin film forming method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a driving element may be a piezoelectric element. In the thin film forming method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, different kinds of liquid material may be jetted from nozzles of respective different rows. In the thin film forming method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a liquid material may be an SOG material. In the thin film forming method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a liquid may be a dopant. In the thin film forming method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a liquid may be a solvent for adjusting a viscosity of a film to be formed. In the thin fi
Matsuda Tetsuo
Ronay Maria
Banner & Witcoff , Ltd.
Barlow John
Do An H.
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
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