Material deposition system and a method for coating a substrate or thermally processing a material in a vacuum
First Claim
1. A material deposition system for depositing material onto a surface of a substrate, the system comprising:
- a first body element having an interior cavity and at least one exit aperture extending through the first body element;
at least one second body element having an interior cavity and at least one exit aperture extending through the at least one second body element, the interior cavity of the at least one second body element configured to contain the material, wherein the at least one exit aperture of the at least one second body element is spatially separated from and in fluid communication with the at least one exit aperture of the first body element;
wherein at least one of the first body element and the at least one second body element are rotatable with respect to each other, such that the at least one exit aperture of the first body element and the at least one exit aperture of the second body element can be aligned and misaligned with respect to each other.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a material deposition system for depositing material onto a surface of a substrate. The system includes a first body element with an interior cavity and an exit aperture extending through the first body element, and a second body element having an interior cavity and an exit aperture extending through the second body element. The interior cavity of the second body element contains the material, and the exit aperture of the second body element is spacially separated from and in fluid communication with the exit aperture of the first body element. The first body element and the second body element are rotatable, such that the exit apertures of the first body element and the second body element can be aligned and misaligned. A material deposition system with novel aperture spacing and separation and methods of coating a substrate and thermally processing a deposition material are also disclosed.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A material deposition system for depositing material onto a surface of a substrate, the system comprising:
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a first body element having an interior cavity and at least one exit aperture extending through the first body element;
at least one second body element having an interior cavity and at least one exit aperture extending through the at least one second body element, the interior cavity of the at least one second body element configured to contain the material, wherein the at least one exit aperture of the at least one second body element is spatially separated from and in fluid communication with the at least one exit aperture of the first body element;
wherein at least one of the first body element and the at least one second body element are rotatable with respect to each other, such that the at least one exit aperture of the first body element and the at least one exit aperture of the second body element can be aligned and misaligned with respect to each other.
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2. A material deposition system for depositing material onto a surface of a substrate, the system comprising:
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at least one body element having an internal cavity configured to contain a material, a wall with a wall thickness and a substantially enclosed upper surface; and
a plurality of apertures extending through the upper surface of the at least one body element and forming a pattern along the upper surface, wherein the exit apertures have an open dimension (D) and a separation spacing (P), wherein the open dimension (D) and the separation spacing (P) are one of fixed and variable dimensions;
wherein the plurality of exit apertures have an open dimension (D) in the range of about ⅕ and
about 5 times the wall thickness of the at least one body element;
wherein the plurality of exit apertures have a separation spacing (P) in the range of about 1.0 and about 20 times the open dimension (D) of the at least one body element. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of coating a substrate in a deposition material system having a crucible with a plurality of exit apertures extending therethrough, a deposition source structure and a vacuum system, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) positioning at least one of the deposition source structure and the crucible within the vacuum system;
(b) positioning at least one deposition chemistry element within the crucible;
(c) positioning at least one substrate in fluid communication with the deposition chemistry element;
(d) heating the deposition chemistry element to volatilize the deposition chemistry element and emit material;
(e) exposing at least a portion of the at least one substrate to material emitted from the heated deposition chemistry element through a plurality of exit apertures in operational communication with at least one of the deposition source structure and the crucible; and
(f) removing the crucible from the deposition source structure and vacuum system through at least one openable end of the deposition source structure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of thermally processing a deposition material in a crucible and a deposition source structure in a vacuum system, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) positioning at least one of the deposition source structure and the crucible within the vacuum system;
(b) positioning deposition material to be thermally processed in the crucible through an openable end of the deposition source structure and the crucible;
(c) heating the deposition material in a thermal processing procedure to at least one of process, clean, de-gas and fractionally distill the deposition material; and
(d) removing at least one of the deposition source structure and crucible from the vacuum system. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A crucible for use in a material deposition system for depositing material onto a surface of a substrate, the crucible comprising:
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at least one body element having an internal cavity configured to contain a material, a wall with a wall thickness and a substantially enclosed upper surface; and
a plurality of apertures extending through the upper surface of the at least one body element and forming a pattern along the upper surface, wherein the exit apertures have an open dimension (D) and a separation spacing (P), wherein the open dimension (D) and the separation spacing (P) are one of fixed and variable dimensions;
wherein the plurality of exit apertures have an open dimension (D) in the range of about ⅕ and
about 5 times the wall thickness of the at least one body element;
wherein the plurality of exit apertures have a separation spacing (P) in the range of about 1.0 and about 20 times the open dimension (D) of the at least one body element.
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Specification