Coating apparatus – Gas or vapor deposition – Multizone chamber
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-22
2003-06-10
Dang, Thi (Department: 1763)
Coating apparatus
Gas or vapor deposition
Multizone chamber
C156S345310
Reexamination Certificate
active
06576061
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing a substrate for use in the production of a semiconductor device (the method for processing a substrate will be hereinafter occasionally referred to as “substrate-processing method” and the apparatus for processing a substrate will be hereinafter occasionally referred to as “substrate-processing apparatus” for simplification purpose). The present invention also relates to a film-forming method and a film-forming apparatus. The film-forming method includes a film-forming method for continuously forming a deposited film on a substrate by means of plasma chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter referred to as plasma CVD) or sputtering. The film-forming apparatus includes a film-forming apparatus for continuously forming a deposited film on a substrate by means of plasma CVD or sputtering. The present invention includes a process and apparatus for producing a photovoltaic element.
2. Related Background Art
In order to form a functional deposited film on a substrate using a plurality of processing chambers (film-forming chambers), there are known a number of apparatus for continuously forming a deposited film on a belt-like shaped substrate (that is, a web substrate) to obtain a semiconductor element. As a representative example of such apparatus, there can be mentioned a film-forming apparatus for continuously forming a deposited film on a web substrate by a so-called roll-to-roll system as disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,409 this film-forming apparatus comprises a double-chambered structure having a plurality of film-forming chambers: provided in a plurality of processing chambers communicated with each other. In said document, there is described that elements such as semiconductor elements having a semiconductor junction can be continuously formed by continuously transporting a long web substrate having a desired width in the longitudinal direction along a route of sequentially passing through the processing chambers. In the film-forming apparatus, each film-forming chamber is provided in the corresponding processing chamber whose inside can be maintained in a vacuumed state. In order to prevent processing gas used fox the formation of a deposited film in each film-forming chamber from being diffused or contaminated into the film-forming chamber situated next thereto, a gas gate is provided between each adjacent processing chambers. The gas gate comprises a slit-like separation passage through which adjacent processing chambers are communicated, where separation gas such as Ar gas, H
2
gas or the like is flown into the separation passage to form a gas flow of the separation gas whereby the adjacent processing chambers are isolated one from the other. In each processing chamber, there are provided a means for introducing processing gas into the film-forming chamber provided therein, exhaust means including an exhaust pipe, a vacuum pump and the like for evacuating the inside of the film-forming chamber, means for performing plasma processing such as plasma CVD or sputtering by supplying a power energy such as high frequency power energy or the like to generate a plasma in the film-forming chamber, components of constituting the film-forming chamber, and a heating means such as a heater for heating the web substrate to a desired temperature for the film formation on the web substrate.
By using the plurality of processing chambers as above described, a plurality of deposited films each comprising a different material or having a different chemical composition can be continuously stacked on a substrate. However, as examples of the constitution of the apparatus such plural processing chambers there are considered (1) a case wherein one film-forming chamber is provided in one-processing chamber where one kind deposited film is formed on the web substrate in one processing chamber, (2) a case wherein a plurality of film-forming chambers are provided in one processing chamber where a plurality of deposited films of the same kind or similar kinds are sequentially formed on the web substrate in one processing chamber, and (3) a case wherein one of the plural processing chambers is used for heating, cooling or etching the web substrate without forming any deposited film thereon. For instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 191120/1997 discloses a process for producing a pin junction type photovoltaic element having improved characteristics wherein the p-type semiconductor layer is formed using a plurality of film-forming chambers which are different from each other with respect to certain condition. Particularly, in this document, there is described that using a film-forming apparatus comprising a plurality of processing chambers each having a film-forming chamber, a multi-layered semiconductor layer as the p-type semiconductor layer is formed by forming a desired deposited film in each of the film-forming chambers each provided in one of the processing chambers. It can be said that this apparatus constitution corresponds the above described case (1). Separately; in the above document, since the same processing gases (film-forming raw material gases) are in said each of the film-forming chambers for the formation of the p-type semiconductor layer, it is considered that the apparatus may take such constitution as described in the above case 2 in that all the film-forming chambers for the formation of the p-type semiconductor layer are arranged in one processing chamber.
Besides, in the case where the film formation in one film-forming chamber is difficult to achieve a desired film thickness, the desired film thickness can be achieved by arranging a plurality of film-forming chambers whose film-forming conditions are the same in one processing chamber as in the above case (2) and sequentially forming a deposited film by said plurality of film-forming chambers. Further, in the above case (2), it is possible to diminish the number of the processing chambers and that of the gas gates and therefore, the apparatus can be simplified and the cost of the apparatus can be diminished.
Incidentally, for the film-forming method by means of such roll-to-roll film-forming apparatus comprising a plurality of processing chambers communicated with each other as above described, it is suitable for mass-producing a functional deposited film or a semiconductor device such as a photovoltaic element or the like. However, particularly in order to widely spread the use of photovoltaic elements (solar cells) there is an increased demand for more improving the conventional film-forming apparatus and method so that they can stably and efficiently mass-produce a high quality photovoltaic element (solar cell) having a more improved photoelectric conversion efficiency, characteristic stability and characteristic uniformity at a reasonable production cost
As one of the important factors for the conventional film-forming apparatus and method to be difficult to comply with this demand, there can be mentioned a subject that the processing chamber or the film-forming chamber has such problems as will be described below with respect to the film-forming conditions relating to the control of the exhaustion and inner pressure of said chamber.
That is, in order to control the inner pressure of the film-forming chamber by evacuating (exhausting) the inside of the film-forming chamber, there is known a method of comparing an inner pressure value measured in the processing chamber or the film-forming chamber with a predetermined objective inner pressure value using a pressure controller and regulating the opening extent of a variable valve so that they are matched. Each of
FIGS. 3
and
4
shows a substrate-processing apparatus in which said method for controlling the inner pressure of the film-forming chamber (the method will be hereinafter referred to as “inner pressure-controlling method”) is used.
In the case of the apparatus shown in
FIG. 3
, there is a problem such that the pu
Hori Tadashi
Kanai Masahiro
Moriyama Koichiro
Ohtoshi Hirokazu
Okada Naoto
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