Thin-film fabrication method and apparatus
AssigneeAgency of Industrial Science & Technology, Ministry of International Trade & Industry
InventorsTakashi Hiraga, Tetsuo Moriya, Norio Tanaka, Hiromitsu Yanagimoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thin-film fabrication method includes a spray step in which at least one thin-film composition material in liquid form is sprayed into a vacuum vessel via a spray nozzle provided for each thin-film composition material and deposited on a substrate, and a heat treatment step in which the material deposited on the substrate is heat treated. The substrate temperature in the spray step and/or the heat treatment step is controlled within a prescribed temperature range.
Claims37
A thin-film fabrication apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum vessel;
- at least one spray nozzle provided within the vacuum vessel for each thin-film composition material that is to be sprayed;
- a substrate having a surface on which the thin-film composition material is deposited;
- measuring means for measuring a substrate temperature;
- heating means for heating the substrate;
- control means for controlling the heating means;
- evacuation means for evacuating the vacuum vessel;
- and
- a removable exothermic film provided on another surface of the substrate opposite the surface on which the thin-film composition material is deposited;
- said control means controlling the heating means to heat the substrate within a control temperature range having a lower limited defined as a temperature that exceeds a lowest temperature of a group of temperatures (1) to (3) selected depending on constituent components of the thin-film composition material used, and an upper limit defined at a temperature that does not exceed a lowest heat decomposition initiation temperature of said thin film composition material components, said group of temperatures being:
- (1) in the case of a thin-film composition material that includes a component containing a thermoplastic high-molecular compound, a melt initiation temperature of the component containing the thermoplastic high-molecular compound,
- (2) in the case of a thin-film composition material that contains an organic or inorganic high-molecular compound precursor, a polymerization initiation temperature, and
- (3) in the case of a thin-film composition material that contains an organic or inorganic cross-linking agent or bridged compound, a temperature at which a cross-linking reaction is initiated.
The thin-film fabrication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a structure for supporting the substrate in the vacuum vessel or sealed vessel provided with a substrate adhesion structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.