阅读说明：本技术 带遮挡的溅射沉积装置及方法 (Sputtering deposition device with shielding and method ) 是由 蒂莫西·内格尔 托马斯·黑克尔 于 2019-07-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种带遮挡的溅射沉积系统和方法,该系统包括一个工艺模块,该工艺模块包括一个配置为接收一个移动衬底的真空外壳,设置在该真空外壳中的多个溅射靶,每个溅射靶包括一种靶材,以及一个设置在该衬底和相邻溅射靶的间隙空间之间的外部遮蔽件。该外部遮蔽件可以构造为至少部分地阻挡溅射靶材间接沉积在该衬底上,并允许溅射靶材直接沉积在该衬底上。(A masked sputter deposition system and method includes a process module including a vacuum enclosure configured to receive a moving substrate, a plurality of sputter targets disposed in the vacuum enclosure, each sputter target including a target material, and an outer shield disposed between the substrate and a gap space of an adjacent sputter target. The outer shield can be configured to at least partially block indirect deposition of the sputtering target on the substrate and to allow direct deposition of the sputtering target on the substrate.)

1. A sputter deposition system comprising a process module, said process module comprising:

a vacuum enclosure configured to receive a moving substrate;

a plurality of sputtering targets disposed in said vacuum enclosure, each of said sputtering targets comprising a target material; and

an outer shield disposed between the substrate and the interstitial space of an adjacent sputtering target, the outer shield configured to at least partially block indirect deposition of sputtering target material onto the substrate and to allow direct deposition of the sputtering target material onto the substrate.

2. The deposition system of claim 1, wherein the outer shield comprises a plurality of apertures, each aperture configured to directly expose a portion of the substrate to a respective sputter target.

3. The deposition system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the apertures is configured such that opposing first and second edge regions of the substrate are exposed to a greater amount of indirect deposition than a central region of the substrate.

4. The deposition system of claim 2, wherein at least one of said apertures is configured such that said outer shield exposes opposing first and second edge regions of said substrate to indirect deposition of sputter target material from at least one of said sputter targets and blocks substantially all indirect deposition of said sputter target material on a central region of said substrate.

5. The deposition system of claim 2, wherein

The ratio of direct deposition from each sputter target is highest in a center region of the sputter target and lowest in an opposite edge region of the sputter target; and is

The outer shield is configured to partially block the indirect deposition such that a ratio of the indirect deposition is highest at opposite edge regions of the substrate and lowest at a central region of the substrate.

6. The deposition system of claim 1, wherein the outer shield is electrically grounded or electrically floating such that a polarity of the outer shield is different from a polarity of a magnetron included in the sputtering targets.

7. The deposition system of claim 1, wherein said outer shield comprises a plurality of individual shield members configured to at least partially block indirect deposition of said sputter target.

8. The deposition system of claim 7, wherein said shield members are configured to block a relatively greater number of said sputtering targets from being indirectly deposited on a central region of said substrate and to block a relatively lesser number of said sputtering targets from being indirectly deposited on an opposite edge region of said substrate.

9. The deposition system of claim 7, wherein each of the shield members is disposed between the substrate and an interstitial space of an adjacent target.

10. The deposition system of claim 1, wherein said targets comprise the same type of target material.

11. The deposition system of claim 10, wherein said target comprises a transparent conductive oxide.

12. The deposition system of claim 11, wherein the transparent conductive oxide comprises: indium tin oxide, zinc oxide, or doped zinc oxide.

13. The deposition system of claim 1, wherein said vacuum enclosure comprises a plurality of dividing walls for separating said targets from each other.

14. The deposition system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one reel or roll configured to continuously move the substrate in a vertical orientation in a first direction from an input port on the vacuum enclosure to an output port on the vacuum enclosure; and

a plurality of additional process modules configured to deposit a plurality of material vapors on the substrate.

15. A sputter deposition method, comprising:

sputtering a target material with a plurality of sputtering targets disposed in a vacuum enclosure; and is

Depositing the sputtering target material on a substrate moving through the vacuum enclosure by direct deposition while at least partially blocking indirect deposition of the sputtering target material on the substrate with an external shield disposed between the substrate and a gap space of an adjacent sputtering target.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the ratio of direct deposition of each sputter target is highest in a center region of the sputter target and lowest in an opposite edge region of the sputter target; and is

The outer barrier is configured to partially block indirect deposition such that a ratio of indirect deposition is highest at opposite edge regions of the substrate and lowest at a central region of the substrate.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the outer shield comprises a plurality of apertures, each aperture configured to directly expose a portion of the substrate to a respective one of the sputtering targets.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein said outer shield comprises a plurality of individual shield members configured to at least partially block indirect deposition of said sputter target.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein depositing the sputter target material by direct deposition on a substrate moving through the vacuum enclosure while at least partially blocking indirect deposition of the sputter target material on the substrate with an external shield disposed between the substrate and a gap space of an adjacent sputter target comprises partially blocking indirect deposition of the sputter target material such that a deposition rate of the target material on the substrate is substantially constant in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movement of the substrate.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein depositing the sputter target material by direct deposition on a substrate moving through the vacuum enclosure while at least partially blocking indirect deposition of the sputter target material on the substrate with an external shield disposed between the substrate and a gap space of an adjacent sputter target comprises at least one of:

forming a first electrode on the substrate;

forming an absorption layer on the first electrode;

forming an n-doped semiconductor layer on the absorption layer; and

a second electrode is formed on the n-doped semiconductor layer.

Background

The present disclosure generally relates to a masked sputter deposition apparatus and a method for depositing a sputter conductive material.

"thin film" photovoltaic material refers to polycrystalline or amorphous photovoltaic material deposited as a layer on a substrate that is supplied to a structural support. Thin film photovoltaic materials are distinguished from single crystal semiconductor materials by relatively high manufacturing costs. Some thin film photovoltaic materials that provide high conversion efficiency include chalcogen compound semiconductor materials, such as copper indium gallium selenide ("CIGS").

Thin film photovoltaic cells (also referred to as photovoltaic cells) can be manufactured using roll-to-roll coating systems based on sputtering, evaporation, or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) techniques. Thin foil substrates, such as foil mesh substrates, are fed from a roll in a linear strip-like fashion through a series of individual vacuum chambers or a single separate vacuum chamber where the thin foil substrate receives the desired layers to form a thin film photovoltaic cell. In such a system, a foil having a limited length may be supplied on a roll. The end of a new roll may be coupled to the end of a previous roll to provide a continuously fed foil layer.

Summary of the invention

According to various embodiments, there is provided a sputter deposition system including a process module comprising: a vacuum enclosure configured to receive a moving substrate; a plurality of sputtering targets disposed in the vacuum enclosure, each sputtering target comprising a target material; and an outer shield disposed between the substrate and an adjacent sputtering target interstitial space, the outer shield configured to at least partially block indirect deposition of the sputtering target on the substrate and to allow direct deposition of the sputtering target on the substrate.

According to various embodiments, there is provided a sputter deposition method including: sputtering a target material with sputtering targets disposed in a vacuum enclosure; and depositing the sputtering target material by direct deposition on a substrate moving through the vacuum enclosure while at least partially blocking indirect deposition of the sputtering target material on the substrate with an external shield disposed between the substrate and a gap space of an adjacent sputtering target.