Apparatus and method for depositing optical thin film
First Claim
1. A film deposition apparatus comprising:
- an optical measurement unit for measuring the light intensities of a plurality of measuring light beams having different wavelengths that are transmitted or reflected by a film during deposition;
a phase estimating unit for calculating the phase of a point corresponding to a desired film thickness for each of the measuring wavelengths based on the relationship between the expected periodic change in the light intensity of the corresponding measuring light beam until the desired film thickness is reached, and the phase corresponding to the expected periodic change, and calculating the degree of phase advance by comparing the expected periodic change and the change in the light intensity of the measuring light beam monitored by the optical measurement unit, the degree of phase advance representing the ratio of the phase of a point corresponding to the thickness of the film during deposition to the phase of the point corresponding to the desired film thickness; and
a deposition control unit for comprehensively determining a deposition end point based on the degrees of phase advance for all the wavelengths and for completing the film deposition at the deposition end point.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A film deposition apparatus includes an optical monitor for measuring the light intensities of a plurality of measuring light beams having different wavelengths that are transmitted or reflected by a film during deposition, a phase estimating section for calculating the phase of a point corresponding to a desired film thickness for each of the measuring wavelengths based on the relationship between the expected periodic change in the light intensity of the corresponding measuring light beam until the desired thickness is reached, and the phase corresponding to the periodic change, and calculating the degree of phase advance by comparing the periodic change and the change in the intensity monitored by the optical monitor, and a deposition control unit for comprehensively determining a deposition end point based on all the degrees of phase advance and for completing the film deposition at the deposition end point.
27 Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A film deposition apparatus comprising:
-
an optical measurement unit for measuring the light intensities of a plurality of measuring light beams having different wavelengths that are transmitted or reflected by a film during deposition;
a phase estimating unit for calculating the phase of a point corresponding to a desired film thickness for each of the measuring wavelengths based on the relationship between the expected periodic change in the light intensity of the corresponding measuring light beam until the desired film thickness is reached, and the phase corresponding to the expected periodic change, and calculating the degree of phase advance by comparing the expected periodic change and the change in the light intensity of the measuring light beam monitored by the optical measurement unit, the degree of phase advance representing the ratio of the phase of a point corresponding to the thickness of the film during deposition to the phase of the point corresponding to the desired film thickness; and
a deposition control unit for comprehensively determining a deposition end point based on the degrees of phase advance for all the wavelengths and for completing the film deposition at the deposition end point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A film deposition method comprising:
-
an optical measurement step of measuring the light intensities of a plurality of measuring light beams having different wavelengths that are transmitted or reflected by a film during deposition;
a phase estimating step of calculating the phase of a point corresponding to a desired film thickness for each of the measuring wavelengths based on the relationship between expected periodic change in the light intensity of the corresponding measuring light beam until the desired film thickness is reached, and the phase corresponding to the periodic change, and calculating the degree of phase advance by comparing the periodic change and the changes in the light intensity of the measuring light beams monitored in the optical measurement step, the degree of phase advance representing the ratio of the phase of a point corresponding to the thickness of the film during deposition to the phase of the point corresponding to the desired film thickness; and
a deposition control step of comprehensively determining a deposition end point based on the degrees of phase advance for all the wavelengths and of completing the film deposition at the deposition end point. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
-
11. An optical filter made of a multilayer thin film deposited by a film deposition apparatus, wherein the optical-thin-film deposition apparatus comprises:
-
an optical measurement unit for measuring the light intensities of a plurality of measuring light beams having different wavelengths that are transmitted or reflected by a film during deposition;
a phase estimating unit for calculating the phase of a point corresponding to a desired film thickness for each of the measuring wavelengths based on the relationship between the expected periodic change in the light intensity of the corresponding measuring light beam until the desired film thickness is reached, and the phase corresponding to the periodic change, and calculating the degree of phase advance by comparing the periodic change and the change in the light intensity of the measuring light beam monitored by the optical measurement unit, the degrees of phase advance representing the ratio of the phase of a point corresponding to the thickness of the film during deposition to the phase of the point corresponding to the desired film thickness; and
a deposition control unit for comprehensively determining a deposition end point based on the degrees of phase advance for all the wavelengths and for completing the film deposition at the deposition end point.
-
-
12. An optical filter made of a multilayer thin film deposited by a film deposition method, wherein the optical-thin-film deposition method comprises:
-
an optical measurement step of measuring the light intensities of a plurality of measuring light beams having different wavelengths that are transmitted or reflected by a film during deposition;
a phase estimating step of calculating the phase of a point corresponding to a desired film thickness for each of the measuring wavelengths based on the relationship between the expected periodic change in the light intensity of the corresponding measuring light beam until the desired film thickness is reached, and the phase corresponding to the periodic change, and calculating the degree of phase advance by comparing the periodic change and the change in the light intensity of the measuring light beam monitored in the optical measurement step, the degree of phase advance representing the ratio of the phase of a point corresponding to the thickness of the film during deposition to the phase of the point corresponding to the desired film thickness; and
a deposition control step of comprehensively determining a deposition end point based on the degrees of phase advance for all the wavelengths and of completing the film deposition at the deposition end point.
-
-
13. A film deposition apparatus for controlling the deposition of a thin film on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
-
an optical measurement unit configured to measure the intensities of at least two measuring light beams reflected from or transmitted through a film deposited on the substrate, each of the at least two light beams having different wavelengths and an intensity that varies as a periodic function of the thickness of the film;
a phase estimating section configured to determine, for each of the measuring light beams, a target phase corresponding to the desired thickness of the film and a measured phase corresponding to the thickness of the deposited film based on the intensities measured; and
a deposition control unit configured to control the deposition so that deposition is terminated in response to a signal based on a comparison between the measured phase and target phase for each of the measuring light beams. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification