Evaporation apparatus, vapor deposition apparatus, and evaporation method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12286703-B2
Application number	US-202318542356-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2023
Priority date	Sep 18, 2020
Publication date	Apr 29, 2025
Grant date	Apr 29, 2025

Abstract

An evaporation apparatus is described, particularly for evaporating a reactive material such as lithium. The evaporation apparatus includes an evaporation crucible for evaporating a liquid material, a material conduit for supplying the liquid material to the evaporation crucible, and a valve configured to close the material conduit by solidifying a part of the liquid material in the material conduit with a cooling device. The valve may include a cooling gas supply for a cooling gas, and the cooling device may be configured to cool the liquid material with the cooling gas. Further described are a vapor deposition apparatus for coating a substrate as well as an evaporation method.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An evaporation apparatus, comprising:
an evaporation crucible for evaporating a liquid material, the liquid material being lithium;
a heatable enclosure having one or more heating elements, the one or more heating elements heating an inner volume of the heatable enclosure to a temperature of 300° C. or more;
a material conduit for supplying the liquid material into the evaporation crucible, the material conduit extending at least partially through the heatable enclosure;
a freeze valve positioned upstream from the evaporation crucible and at least partially in the heatable enclosure, comprising:
a cooling passage extending axially along the material conduit and surrounding a section of the material conduit, the cooling passage in thermal contact with the material conduit;
a fluid supply conduit coupled to the cooling passage at a first end of the cooling passage to provide a cooling gas to the cooling passage to cool the liquid material in the material conduit to a temperature below a melting point temperature of the liquid material such that a part of the liquid material solidifies to form a plug that clogs the material conduit; and
a second fluid conduit coupled to the cooling passage at a second end of the cooling passage, the second end of the cooling passage opposite of and spaced apart from the first end of the cooling passage; and

a noble gas supply for guiding the cooling gas to the cooling passage for cooling the liquid material with the cooling gas.

2. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the noble gas supply is an argon supply.

3. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling gas supply is configured to guide the cooling gas through the cooling passage with at least one or more of: (i) a gas pressure in a range from 2 bar to 20 bar, (ii) a gas velocity in a range from 15 m/s to 50 m/s, and (iii) a mass flow in a range from 10 slm to 50 slm.

4. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the cooling passage and the evaporation crucible is 20 cm or less.

5. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a thermal insulation arrangement that at least partially or entirely encloses the cooling passage for thermally insulating the cooling passage and a section of the material conduit surrounded by the cooling passage from a hot environment inside the heatable enclosure or chamber.

6. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the thermal insulation arrangement comprises one or more heat shields that coaxially extend around the material conduit.

7. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling gas is argon.

8. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling passage extends annularly around a section of the material conduit and a main flow direction of the cooling gas in the cooling passage corresponds to a main flow direction of the liquid material in the material conduit.

9. A vapor deposition apparatus for coating a substrate, comprising:
the evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 ;
a vapor distributor with a plurality of nozzles for directing the liquid material that has been evaporated in the evaporation crucible toward the substrate; and
a movable substrate support for moving the substrate past the vapor distributor.

10. An evaporation apparatus, comprising:
an evaporation crucible for evaporating a liquid material, the liquid material being lithium;
a heatable enclosure having one or more heating elements, the one or more heating elements heating an inner volume of the heatable enclosure to a temperature of 300° C. or more;
a material conduit for supplying the liquid material into the evaporation crucible, the material conduit extending at least partially through the heatable enclosure;
a freeze valve positioned upstream from the evaporation crucible and at least partially in the heatable enclosure, comprising:
a cooling passage extending helically or spirally along the material conduit and surrounding a section of the material conduit, the cooling passage in thermal contact with the material conduit;
a fluid supply conduit fluidly coupled to the cooling passage at a first end of the cooling passage to provide a cooling gas to the cooling passage to cool the liquid material in the material conduit to a temperature below a melting point temperature of the liquid material such that a part of the liquid material solidifies to form a plug that clogs the material conduit; and
a second fluid conduit coupled to the cooling passage at a second end of the cooling passage, the second end of the cooling passage opposite of and spaced apart from the first end of the cooling passage; and

a noble gas supply for guiding the cooling gas to the cooling passage for cooling the liquid material with the cooling gas.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Buschbeck Wolfgang
• Bangert Stefan

Classifications

• F16K13/00

  Other constructional types of cut-off apparatus (means for plugging pipes or hoses F16L55/10); Arrangements for cutting-off · CPC title

• C23C14/243 Primary

  Crucibles for source material (C23C14/28, C23C14/30 take precedence) · CPC title

• C23C14/562

  for coating elongated substrates · CPC title

• C23C14/246

  Replenishment of source material · CPC title

• C23C14/14

  Metallic material, boron or silicon · CPC title