Single-unit reactor design for combined oxidative, initiated, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9957618-B2
Application number	US-201213407075-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2012
Priority date	Feb 28, 2012
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

Described herein are reactors capable of sequentially or simultaneously depositing thin-film polymers onto a substrate by oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD), initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The single-unit CVD reactors allow for the use of more than one CVD process on the same substrate without the risk of inadvertently exposing the substrate to ambient conditions when switching processes. Furthermore, the ability to deposit simultaneously polymers made by two different CVD processes allows for the exploration of new materials. In addition to assisting in the deposition of polymer films, plasma processes may be used to pretreat substrate surfaces before polymer deposition, or to clean the internal surfaces of the reactor between experiments.

First claim

We claim:

1. A single-unit CVD reactor, comprising a chamber, wherein:
the chamber comprises a substrate stage, a radiofrequency electrode, a filament, a monomer inlet, an oxidant crucible, and optionally a oxidant inlet;
the oxidant crucible is operably connected to a heat source;
the substrate stage is oriented above the filament;
the substrate stage is operably connected to a heat source or a cooling source;
the chamber is operably connected to a vacuum source;
the monomer inlet is operably connected to a source of a monomer gas; and
the oxidant inlet, if present, is operably connected to a source of oxidant gas.

2. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the single-unit CVD reactor further comprises a window, a door, or a lid on the chamber.

3. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the chamber is substantially cylindrical in shape.

4. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the chamber comprises glass or stainless steel.

5. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the substrate stage is operably connected to a DC power supply.

6. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the radiofrequency electrode comprises a metal.

7. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the chamber comprises a plurality of filaments.

8. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 7 , wherein the filaments are spaced from about 1 mm apart to about 30 mm apart.

9. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the filament is from about 0.1 cm to about 20 cm from the substrate stage.

10. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the filament comprises a metal.

11. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein the filament is from about 0.01 cm to about 0.1 cm in diameter.

12. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 1 , wherein a pressure inside the chamber is from about 5 mtorr to about 760 torr.

13. A single-unit CVD reactor, comprising a chamber, wherein:
the chamber comprises a substrate stage, an oxidant crucible, a radiofrequency electrode, a filament, and an inlet, wherein
the substrate stage is oriented above the filament;
the substrate stage is operably connected to a heat source or a cooling source;
the chamber is operably connected to a vacuum source; and
the inlet is operably connected to a source of a monomer gas.

14. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 13 , wherein the single-unit CVD reactor further comprises a window, a door, or a lid on the chamber.

15. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 13 , wherein the chamber comprises glass or stainless steel.

16. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 13 , wherein the substrate stage is operably connected to a DC power supply.

17. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 13 , wherein the radiofrequency electrode comprises a metal.

18. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 13 , wherein the chamber comprises a plurality of filaments.

19. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 18 , wherein the filaments are spaced from about 1 mm apart to about 30 mm apart.

20. The single-unit CVD reactor of claim 13 , wherein the filament comprises a metal.

Assignees

• Bhattacharyya Dhiman
• Gleason Karen K
• Barr Miles C
• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Bhattacharyya Dhiman
• Gleason Karen K
• Barr Miles C

Classifications

• C23C16/509 Primary

  using internal electrodes · CPC title