WO2010126254A2

WO2010126254A2 - Source supplying unit, thin film depositing apparatus, and method for depositing thin film

Info

Publication number: WO2010126254A2
Application number: PCT/KR2010/002543
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chang Ho Kang; Sung Tae Namgoong; Jun Seo Rho; Whang Sin Cho; Hyung Seok Yoon; Kyung Bin Bae
Original assignee: SNU Precision Co Ltd
Current assignee: SNU Precision Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-04-27
Filing date: 2010-04-23
Publication date: 2010-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-27
Also published as: CN102414798B; CN102414798A; KR100936378B1; WO2010126254A3; JP2012525499A; TW201105810A; TWI386501B; JP5372243B2

Abstract

Provided are a source supplying unit, a thin film depositing apparatus including the source supplying unit, and a method for depositing a thin film. The source supplying unit includes a liquefaction part configured to liquefy a source material, an evaporation part communicating with the liquefaction part to evaporate the liquefied source material, and an injector communicating with the evaporation part to inject the evaporated source material. The liquefaction part includes a pot having a cylinder shape to store the source material, a piston part inserted to a side of the pot to discharge the source material, and a liquefaction heating part configured to heat the pot to liquefy the source material. After a solid source material is liquefied, a necessary portion is evaporated from the source material and supplied, thus achieving large capacity in source material and minimizing the amount of heat consumed for evaporating and supplying the source material.

Description

SOURCE SUPPLYING UNIT, THIN FILM DEPOSITING APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR DEPOSITING THIN FILM

The present disclosure relates to a source supplying unit, and more particularly, to a source supplying unit configured to evaporate a source material and supply the source material, a thin film depositing apparatus including the source supplying unit, and a method for depositing a thin film.

Solar cells are semiconductor devices that use photovoltaic effect to convert light energy into electrical energy, and are recently receiving increased attention due to the depletion of fossil fuels. Specifically, compound thin film solar cells such as copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells or cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells are manufactured through relatively simple manufacturing processes, and manufacturing costs thereof are low. In addition, such a compound thin film solar cell has the same light conversion efficiency as those of other related art solar cells. Thus, compound thin film solar cells are being regarded with much interest as the next generation solar cells.

Since organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are self-luminescent devices unlike liquid crystal display devices, they do not require a backlight, and thus, their power consumption is low. Furthermore, since OLEDs have wide viewing angles and high response speeds, a display device including OLEDs displays an improved image having a wide viewing angle without a residual image.

Meanwhile, a vacuum heat deposition method is widely used in deposition processes for manufacturing solar cells and organic light emitting devices. In this case, a deposition apparatus typically includes, in a vacuum chamber, a pot filled with a deposition material, an evaporation source configured by a heat source for heating the pot, and a crystal sensor configured to adjust deposition speed of the deposition material evaporated through the evaporation source.

When a flat display device or a solar cell device is manufactured using the vacuum heat deposition method, an evaporation source is required to be applied to a substrate having a large area, to be stable in controlling deposition speed, and to have a large capacity for continuously supplying an evaporation material.

However, since evaporation sources used in related art deposition apparatuses are limited in a filling capacity of a pot, operations of the apparatuses should be frequently stopped. To address this limitation, it is suggested that a filling capacity of a deposition material is increased. However, a larger amount of heat is required to heat an increased pot and evaporate a deposition material. In addition, since a large amount of deposition material is evaporated and injected, it is difficult to adjust deposition speed and maintain deposition quality. When various deposition materials are used, it is further difficult to adjust deposition speed and maintain deposition quality. Accordingly, since a thin film, which should be evenly formed on a surface of a crystal sensor, is unevenly formed, a replacement cycle thereof is shortened. Thus, an apparatus should be frequently stopped, and a tooling factor should be applied according to the type of a deposition material and the position of a crystal sensor.

The present disclosure provides a source supplying unit, a thin film depositing apparatus, and a method for depositing a thin film, which evaporate a necessary portion from a large amount of source material and supply the portion, thus minimizing the amount of heat unnecessarily consumed by a heating member.

The present disclosure also provides a source supplying unit, a thin film depositing apparatus, and a method for depositing a thin film, which achieve large capacity in source material, and simultaneously, facilitate adjusting of deposition speed and maintaining of deposition quality.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a source supplying unit includes: a liquefaction part configured to liquefy a source material; an evaporation part communicating with the liquefaction part to evaporate the liquefied source material; and an injector communicating with the evaporation part to inject the evaporated source material, wherein the liquefaction part includes: a pot having a cylinder shape to store the source material; a piston part inserted to a side of the pot to discharge the source material; and a liquefaction heating part configured to heat the pot to liquefy the source material.

The evaporation part may include: an evaporation chamber communicating with the pot; and an evaporation heating part configured to heat the evaporation chamber to evaporate the source material.

The source supplying unit may further include: a transfer pipe configured to connect the liquefaction part to the evaporation part; and an auxiliary evaporation heating part configured to heat an end of the transfer pipe connected to the evaporation part.

The injector may have one of a point-type injection structure, a plane-type injection structure, and a line-type injection structure.

The source supplying unit may further include a control part configured to control an amount of the liquefied source material supplied from the liquefaction part to the evaporation part, and an amount of the source material evaporated at the evaporation part.

The control part may include: a pressure gauge configured to sense a pressure of the evaporation part; and a driving control part configured to control reciprocating driving of the piston part.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, a thin film depositing apparatus includes: a chamber configured to provide a process space; a substrate support part disposed in the chamber to support a substrate; and a source supplying unit facing the substrate to supply a source material to the substrate, wherein the source supplying unit includes: a liquefaction part configured to liquefy the source material; an evaporation part communicating with the liquefaction part to evaporate the liquefied source material; and an injector communicating with the evaporation part to inject the evaporated source material.

The liquefaction part may include: a pot having a cylinder shape to store the source material; a piston part inserted to a side of the pot to discharge the source material; and a liquefaction heating part configured to heat the pot to liquefy the source material.

The thin film depositing apparatus may further include a control part configured to control an amount of the liquefied source material supplied from the liquefaction part to the evaporation part, and an amount of the source material evaporated at the evaporation part.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, a method for depositing a thin film includes: filling a pot with a source material; heating the pot to liquefy the source material; transferring a portion of the source material liquefied in the pot to an evaporation chamber connected to the pot; evaporating the source material transferred to the evaporation chamber; and injecting the evaporated source material to a substrate.

The transferring may include compressing the source material filling the pot, using a piston to transfer the source material.

The method may further include measuring an evaporation pressure of the evaporation chamber to adjust an amount of the source material transferred from the pot to the evaporation chamber.

The injecting may include using an injector that has one of a point-type injection structure, a plane-type injection structure, and a line-type injection structure.

In accordance with the present disclosure, after a solid source material is liquefied, a necessary portion is evaporated from the liquefied source material and supplied, thus achieving large capacity in source material, and simultaneously, minimizing the amount of heat consumed for evaporating and supplying the source material.

A large amount of source material is liquefied at the liquefaction part, and a necessary small portion is evaporated from the liquefied source material at the evaporation part and supplied, thus improving productivity according to large capacity in source material, and thus facilitating the adjusting of deposition speed and the maintaining of deposition quality according to the evaporation of a small amount of source material.

In addition, the amount of a liquid source material supplied from the liquefaction part is minutely adjusted through the piston-cylinder compression mechanism according to the evaporation pressure of the evaporation part, thus further facilitating the adjusting of deposition speed and the maintaining of deposition quality.

In addition, since a thin film is uniformly formed on the surface of the film thickness sensor in the deposition process, a replacement cycle is extended to increase continuous operation time of the apparatus, thus improving the productivity.

In addition, since a deposition direction through the source supplying unit is not limited to a specific direction, an optimized deposition direction is selected according to the structure of a chamber and the area of a substrate, in performing the process. Thus, even when a substrate having a large area is used, a downward deposition direction is selected to prevent hanging down of a substrate, thus forming a high quality thin film on a substrate.

Exemplary embodiments can be understood in more detail from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a thin film depositing apparatus including a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 3 through 6 are schematic views illustrating an operation of a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplified embodiment; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic views illustrating process directions of a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a thin film depositing apparatus including a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. In FIG. 2, a cover member disposed at the outside of an injector of the source supplying unit is removed.

Referring to FIG. 1, the thin film depositing apparatus includes a chamber 100, a substrate support part 410 disposed in the chamber 100 to support a substrate G, a source supplying unit 500 facing the substrate G to supply a source material to the substrate G, a film thickness sensor 700 measuring the thickness of a thin film deposited on the substrate G, and a substrate movement member 420 for a relative movement between the substrate support part 410 and the source supplying unit 500.

The chamber 100 has a hollowed cylindrical shape or a tetragonal box shape, and provides a predetermined reaction space for processing the substrate G. However, the shape of the chamber 100 is not limited thereto, and thus, the chamber 100 may have any shape corresponding the shape of the substrate G. For example, in the current embodiment, the chamber 100 has a tetragonal box shape for corresponding to a tetragonal glass substrate as the substrate G. A side wall of the chamber 100 is provided with a gate 200 for loading and unloading the substrate G, and a lower wall of the chamber 100 is provided with an exhaust part 300 for vacuum formation and inside exhaust. The gate 200 may be configured by a slit valve, and the exhaust part 300 may be configured by a vacuum pump. Although the chamber 100 is exemplified as a single body, the chamber 100 may include a discrete lower chamber having an open upper portion, and a discrete chamber lid covering the upper portion of the lower chamber.

The substrate support part 410 is disposed at the lower space in the chamber 100, and supports the substrate G loaded in the chamber 100. A surface of the substrate support part 410 on which the substrate G is placed, that is, the upper surface of the substrate support part 410 is provided with a member for fixing the placed substrate G, for example, provided with one of various chuck members that use force such as mechanical force, vacuum suction force, and electrostatic force to hold the substrate G, or may be provided with a holder member such as a clamp. Although not shown, a shadow mask may be disposed at the upper portion of the substrate support part 410 such that a thin film is prevented from being formed at the edge of the substrate G or a thin film formed on a substrate has a predetermined pattern. As a matter of course, the shadow mask may be installed independently from the substrate support part 410 such that the shadow mask is supported by an inner side wall of the chamber 100.

The substrate movement member 420 is disposed at the lower side of the substrate support part 410 to vertically and horizontally transfer and rotate the substrate support part 410. For example, the substrate movement member 420 includes a conveyor belt 421 and a driving wheel 422 controlling left and right movement of the conveyor belt 421 to reciprocate, along the left and right direction, the substrate support part 410 supported by the upper surface of the conveyor belt 421. The single substrate support part 410 is disposed in the chamber 100, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Thus, a plurality of substrate support parts may be disposed in the chamber 100. Furthermore, the single substrate G is disposed in the substrate support part 410, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Thus, a plurality of substrates may be disposed in the substrate support part 410.

A temperature control member 430 may be disposed at the lower side of the substrate movement member 420 to maintain the substrate G placed on the substrate support part 410 at an appropriate temperature for performing a process. The temperature control member 430 may include at least one of a cooling member cooling the substrate G, and a heating member heating the substrate G. In the current embodiment, a cooling member configured such that cooling water flows through a cooling pipe is used to maintain the temperature of the substrate G at a process temperature, thus improving reactivity of a deposition material deposited on the upper surface of the substrate G.

The source supplying unit 500 is disposed at the upper portion in the chamber 100 to face the substrate G supported by the substrate support part 410 and supply an evaporated source material to the substrate G. The source supplying unit 500 includes one or more

source supplying units

5000a, 5000b, and 5000c, which may be spaced an identical distance from each other on an identical horizontal or vertical plane.

The film thickness sensor 700 is a member that senses the thickness of a film deposited on a surface of the substrate G to measure the thickness of the film deposited on the substrate G. The film thickness sensor 700 may be any member configured to measure the thickness of a thin film on the substrate G. In the current embodiment, the film thickness sensor 700 is a quartz resonator sensor that uses variation in the natural frequency of a quartz resonator when a film is deposited on the surface, so as to measure the thickness of the film.

Referring to FIG. 2, the

source supplying units

5000a, 5000b, and 5000c each includes a liquefaction part 5100 liquefying a source material, an evaporation part 5200 communicating with the liquefaction part 5100 to evaporate the liquefied source material, and an injector 5300 communicating with the evaporation part 5200 to inject the evaporated source material. The

source supplying units

5000a, 5000b, and 5000c each further includes a control part 5500 that controls an amount of the liquefied source material supplied from the liquefaction part 5100 to the evaporation part 5200, and an amount of the source material evaporated at the evaporation part 5200.

The liquefaction part 5100 includes a pot 5110 having a cylindrical shape to store a source material, a piston part 5120 inserted to a side of the pot 5110 to compress and discharge the source material, a liquefaction heating part 5130 heating the pot 5110 to liquefy the source material, and a housing 5140 receiving the pot 5110 and the piston part 5120 to provide a vacuum condition.

The pot 5110 has a cylinder shape with an open side and a closed side to provide a predetermined storage chamber A filled with a source material S. A body of the pot 5110 is provided with at least one source inlet 5111 to which the source material S is input, and at least one source outlet 5112 from which the source material S is output. For example, in the current embodiment, the upper portion of the body of the pot 5110 is provided with the source inlet 5111, and a closed bottom or side surface of the body of the pot 5110 is provided with the source outlet 5112.

The liquefaction heating part 5130 is a member that supplies heat energy to heat and liquefy the source material S in a solid state stored in the pot 5110, and may be any member configured to supply heat energy to liquefy the source material S. For example, a core heater or a lamp heater may be used as the liquefaction heating part 5130. In the current embodiment, a core heater is used as the liquefaction heating part 5130, and surrounds the outer region of the pot 5110. As a matter of course, instead of disposing the liquefaction heating part 5130 at the outside of the pot 5110, the liquefaction heating part 5130 may be disposed at the inside of the pot 5110, or be embedded in the body of the pot 5110. Furthermore, a heating member may be provided to the housing 5140 to replace the liquefaction heating part 5130.

The piston part 5120 is a member that gradually transfers the source material S, filling the storage chamber A of the pot 5110, to the evaporation part 5200. The piston part 5120 includes a head 5121, a rod 5122, and a driving part 5123. The head 5121 is disposed in the pot 5110 to compress and transfer the source material S. The rod 5122 has a first side connected to the head 5121, and a second side extending to the outside of the pot 5110, and is movable integrally with the head 5121. The driving part 5123 is connected to the second side of the rod 5122 to move the rod 5122. The driving part 5123 may be any member, such as a motor or a hydraulic cylinder, configured to move the rod 5122 upward and downward. For example, in the current embodiment, a linear motor is used, which converts a rotational motion into a linear motion and accurately controls the driving.

The evaporation part 5200 includes an evaporation chamber 5210 into which the source material S is introduced in a liquid state, and an evaporation heating part 5220 heating the evaporation chamber 5210 to an evaporation temperature.

The evaporation chamber 5210 communicates with the source outlet 5112 of the pot 5110 through a transfer pipe 5400 to receive the source material S in a liquid state and provide a predetermined space in which the source material S in a liquid state is evaporated. A side of the transfer pipe 5400 is inserted into the evaporation chamber 5210, and extends a predetermined length. An extension end 5411 at the extended side of the transfer pipe 5400 has an inner diameter greater than the mean inner diameter of the transfer pipe 5400. The extension end 5411 of the transfer pipe 5400 is provided with an auxiliary evaporation heating part 5412 heating the source material S in a liquid state to the evaporation temperature. Thus, a spread range and an evaporation speed of the source material S supplied through the transfer pipe 5400 can be further improved. In addition, a heating member such as a heating line may be embedded in the transfer pipe 5400 to maintain the liquid state of the source material S when the source material S is transferred. The auxiliary evaporation heating part 5412 may include a member such as the liquefaction heating part 5130, that is, a core heater or a lamp heater.

The evaporation heating part 5220 is a member that supplies heat energy to heat and evaporate the source material S in a liquid state introduced into the evaporation chamber 5210, and may be any member configured to supply heat energy to evaporate the source material S in a liquid state.

The injector 5300 has a bar shape that horizontally extends a predetermined length from a side of the evaporation chamber 5210. The injector 5300 may vertically or obliquely extend according to a process direction, and have a point-type injection structure or a plane-type injection structure instead of a line-type injection structure such as a bar shaped injection structure. A communication passage 5310 to which the source material S evaporated at the evaporation part 5200 is introduced is disposed in a body of the injector 5300. A plurality of injection holes 5320 extending from the communication passage 5310 and opened outward are disposed in the outer surface of the body of the injector 5300. The positions and number of the injection holes 5320 may be controlled to inject the source material S in a vapor state toward the substrate G. Although not shown, the injection holes 5320 may have injection nozzle shapes protruding a predetermined length from the body of the injector 5300 to the outside. Thus, the source material S evaporated at the evaporation part 5200 flows through the communication passage 5310 of the injector 5300, and is uniformly injected to the upper portion of the substrate G through the injection holes 5320 of the injector 5300.

A heating member may be disposed at the outside or the body of the injector 5300 to maintain evaporation quality. The heating member surrounds at least one portion of an outside region of the injector 5300, which is out of the injection holes 5320. The heating member further evaporates (secondary evaporation) the source material S evaporated (primary evaporation) at the evaporation part 5200 and flowing to the communication passage 5310 of the injector 5300. Accordingly, the evaporation state of the source material S flowing along the communication passage 5310 can be maintained, and evaporation density and evaporation quality can be further improved. A cover member 5700 of FIG. 1 may be disposed at the outside of the injector 5300 to control an injection direction. The cover member 5700 has a lamp shade shape with an open side to control a source material to be intensively injected in a desired direction from the injector 5300.

Although not shown, a cooling member may be disposed to cover the entire outside of the injector 5300 except for the injection direction. The cooling member prevents heat emitted to the outside of the injector 5300 from varying process conditions in the chamber 100, and simultaneously, prevents thermal deformation of a peripheral structure part.

The control part 5500 controls operations of various devices installed on the liquefaction part 5100, the evaporation part 5200, and the injector 5300 to finally control the injection amount, injection speed and evaporation quality of a source material injected through the injector 5300. To this end, the control part 5500 includes a pressure gauge 5510 sensing the pressure of the evaporation part 5200, and a driving control part 5520 controlling the driving of the piston part 5120. The control part 5500 measures an evaporation pressure of the evaporation part 5200 through the pressure gauge 5510 to control the driving of the piston part 5120, thus controlling the amount of a liquid source material supplied to the evaporation part 5200. That is, when the evaporation pressure is less than a target value, forward movement speed of the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is increased to increase the amount of the supplied liquid source material. On the contrary, when the evaporation pressure is greater than the target value, the forward movement speed of the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is decreased to reduce the amount of the supplied liquid source material.

As such, since the control part 5500 accurately adjusts the amount of the source material S in a liquid state supplied from the liquefaction part 5100, according to the evaporation pressure of the evaporation part 5200, it is further easy to adjust the deposition speed and maintain the deposition quality. In addition, since a thin film is uniformly formed on the surface of the film thickness sensor 700, a replacement cycle is extended to increase continuous operation time of the apparatus.

An operation of the thin film depositing apparatus including the source supplying unit 500 will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3 through 6. FIGS. 3 through 6 are schematic views illustrating an operation of a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplified embodiment.

When the substrate G is loaded into the chamber 100, and placed on the substrate support part 410, the substrate G is maintained at a predetermined process temperature by the temperature control member 430. Then, the substrate transfer member 420 reciprocates the substrate G along the left and right direction, and the

source supplying units

5000a, 5000b, and 5000c each injects the source material S in a vapor state to the upper surface of the substrate G. Accordingly, a thin film is formed on the substrate G, and a thickness of the thin film formed on the substrate G is monitored through the film thickness sensor 700 disposed in the chamber 100, thus controlling the entire thin film process.

In a thin film process as described above, the

source supplying units

5000a, 5000b, and 5000c each evaporates a source material supplied in a solid or liquid state, and uniformly injects the evaporated source material to an entire substrate through the injectors 5300 disposed in the chamber 100. This source supplying operation will now be described in more detail. Here, it is assumed that a solid source material is supplied.

First, referring to FIG. 3, a gate 5141 of the housing 5140 is opened to input a solid source material to the housing 5140, and the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is moved backward to dispose the front end of the head 5121 behind the source inlet 5111. Thus, the inner space defined by the inner wall of the pot 5110 and the head 5121 of the piston part 5120, that is, the storage chamber A is connected through the source inlet 5111 to the outer space and opened. Then, the storage chamber A is filled with the source material through the source inlet 5111.

Then, referring to FIG. 4, the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is moved forward to dispose the front end of the head 5121 at the front side of the source inlet 5111. Thus, the inner space defined by the inner wall of the pot 5110 and the head 5121 of the piston part 5120, that is, the storage chamber A is separated from the outer space and closed. Thereafter, the source material S in a solid state filling the pot 5110 is heated and liquefied through the liquefaction heating part 5130.

Then, referring to FIG. 5, when the source material S in a solid state is completely liquefied, the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is gradually moved forward to discharge the source material S, filling the storage chamber A, through the source outlet 5112. Thus, the source material S liquefied at the liquefaction part 5100 is supplied along the transfer pipe 5400 to the evaporation chamber 5210, and the liquid state of the source material S is maintained by the heating member (not shown) embedded in the transfer pipe 5400.

Thereafter, referring to FIG. 6, the source material S in a liquid state supplied to the evaporation chamber 5210 is heated to a predetermined temperature and evaporated through the evaporation heating part 5220 for entirely heating the evaporation chamber 5210, and the auxiliary evaporation heating part 5412 for heating the extension end 5411 of the transfer pipe 5400. The source material S in a vapor state is moved into the chamber 100 along the communication passage 5310 in the injector 5300, and is uniformly injected to an entire substrate through the injection holes 5320 disposed in the surface of the injector 5300.

In the source supplying operation, the amount of the source material S in a liquid state supplied to the evaporation chamber 5210 is accurately adjusted by the head 5121 of the piston part 5120. The control part 5500 measures the evaporation pressure of the evaporation chamber 5210 in real time through the pressure gauge 5510. Accordingly, the control part 5500 controls the movement of the head 5121 of the piston part 5120, thus more precisely adjusting the amount of the source material S in a liquid state supplied to the evaporation chamber 5210. That is, when the evaporation pressure is less than a target value, forward movement speed of the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is increased to increase the amount of the supplied liquid source material. On the contrary, when the evaporation pressure is greater than the target value, the forward movement speed of the head 5121 of the piston part 5120 is decreased to reduce the amount of the supplied liquid source material. Thus, the amount of a source material injected through the injector 5300 can be controlled more accurately.

Since the source supplying unit 500 configured as described above can use both a solid source material and a liquid source material, materials can be freely selected. In addition, a large amount of source material is liquefied at the liquefaction part 5100, and a small amount of the liquefied source material is evaporated at the evaporation part 5200 and supplied. Thus, since large capacity in source material can be achieved, productivity is increased, and since a small amount of source material is evaporated, it is easy to adjust the deposition speed and maintain the deposition quality. Since only a necessary small amount of source material is evaporated instead of entirely evaporating a large amount of source material, the amount of heat consumed can be minimized.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the source supplying unit 500 is configured in a downward manner that a source material is supplied to the upper portion of the substrate G. Thus, the entire lower surface of the substrate G can be stably supported by the upper surface of the substrate support part 410. Even when the substrate G has a large area, the substrate G substantially does not hang down. As a matter of course, since the position of the source supplying unit 500 is not limited in the present disclosure, the process direction is not limited to the downward manner. That is, referring to FIG. 7, the source supplying unit 500 may be configured in an upward manner that a source material is supplied at the lower side of the substrate G. In addition, referring to FIG. 8, the source supplying unit 500 may be configured in a lateral manner that a source material is supplied at a side surface of the substrate G that is vertically disposed. FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic views illustrating process directions of a source supplying unit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

As described above, since the deposition direction of the thin film depositing apparatus including the source supplying unit 500 is not limited, a desired process direction can be freely selected according to the structure of a chamber, or the type of a substrate.

Although the source supplying unit, the thin film depositing apparatus, and the method for depositing a thin film have been described with reference to the specific embodiments, they are not limited thereto. Therefore, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A source supplying unit comprising:

a liquefaction part configured to liquefy a source material;

an evaporation part communicating with the liquefaction part to evaporate the liquefied source material; and

an injector communicating with the evaporation part to inject the evaporated source material,

wherein the liquefaction part comprises:

a pot having a cylinder shape to store the source material;

a piston part inserted to a side of the pot to discharge the source material; and

a liquefaction heating part configured to heat the pot to liquefy the source material.
The source supplying unit of claim 1, wherein the evaporation part comprises:

an evaporation chamber communicating with the pot; and

an evaporation heating part configured to heat the evaporation chamber to evaporate the source material.
The source supplying unit of claim 1, further comprising:

a transfer pipe configured to connect the liquefaction part to the evaporation part; and

an auxiliary evaporation heating part configured to heat an end of the transfer pipe connected to the evaporation part.
The source supplying unit of claim 1, wherein the injector has one of a point-type injection structure, a plane-type injection structure, and a line-type injection structure.
The source supplying unit of claim 1, further comprising a control part configured to control an amount of the liquefied source material supplied from the liquefaction part to the evaporation part, and an amount of the source material evaporated at the evaporation part.
The source supplying unit of claim 5, wherein the control part comprises:

a pressure gauge configured to sense a pressure of the evaporation part; and

a driving control part configured to control reciprocating driving of the piston part.
A thin film depositing apparatus comprising:

a chamber configured to provide a process space;

a substrate support part disposed in the chamber to support a substrate; and

a source supplying unit facing the substrate to supply a source material to the substrate,

wherein the source supplying unit comprises:

a liquefaction part configured to liquefy the source material;

an evaporation part communicating with the liquefaction part to evaporate the liquefied source material; and

an injector communicating with the evaporation part to inject the evaporated source material.
The thin film depositing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the liquefaction part comprises:

a pot having a cylinder shape to store the source material;

a piston part inserted to a side of the pot to discharge the source material; and

a liquefaction heating part configured to heat the pot to liquefy the source material.
The thin film depositing apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a control part configured to control an amount of the liquefied source material supplied from the liquefaction part to the evaporation part, and an amount of the source material evaporated at the evaporation part.
The thin film depositing apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a control part configured to control an amount of the liquefied source material supplied from the liquefaction part to the evaporation part, and an amount of the source material evaporated at the evaporation part,

wherein the control part comprises:

a pressure gauge configured to sense a pressure of the evaporation part; and

a driving control part configured to control reciprocating driving of the piston part.
A method for depositing a thin film, the method comprising:

filling a pot with a source material;

heating the pot to liquefy the source material;

transferring a portion of the source material liquefied in the pot to an evaporation chamber connected to the pot;

evaporating the source material transferred to the evaporation chamber; and

injecting the evaporated source material to a substrate.
The method of claim 11, wherein the transferring comprises compressing the source material filling the pot, using a piston to transfer the source material.
The method of claim 11, further comprising adjusting an amount of the source material transferred from the pot to the evaporation chamber through measuring an evaporation pressure of the evaporation chamber.
The method of claim 11, wherein the injecting comprises using an injector that has one of a point-type injection structure, a plane-type injection structure, and a line-type injection structure.