US 12,203,164 B2
Material deposition apparatus, method of depositing material on a substrate, and material deposition system
Tamara Heintz, Mömbris (DE); Stefan Bangert, Steinau (DE); Suresh Manikkoth Kollarath, Bangalore (IN); and Ramgopal Chakkaravarthy Ramasamy, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed by Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed on Apr. 11, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/717,642.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/177,491, filed on Apr. 21, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0341031 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. C23C 14/56 (2006.01); C23C 14/24 (2006.01); C23C 14/54 (2006.01)
CPC C23C 14/541 (2013.01) [C23C 14/24 (2013.01); C23C 14/562 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A material deposition apparatus for depositing an evaporated material onto a substrate, the material deposition apparatus comprising:
a processing drum having a cooler configured to control a substrate temperature during processing of the substrate on the processing drum;
a roller guiding the substrate towards the processing drum;
a first heater assembly positioned to heat the substrate in a free-span area between the roller and the processing drum;
a second heater assembly positioned to heat the substrate while the substrate is supported on the processing drum;
at least one deposition source provided along a substrate transport path downstream of the second heater assembly;
a substrate speed sensor providing a speed signal correlating with a substrate transportation speed; and
a controller having an input for the speed signal configured to control at least the first heater assembly based on the speed signal, the controller further comprising:
a memory storing computer readable instructions; and
a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured by the computer readable instructions that when executed by the processor perform a plurality of operations for depositing the evaporated material onto the substrate, the plurality of operations comprising:
guiding the substrate from the roller through the free-span area towards the processing drum at the substrate transportation speed;
receiving the speed signal from the substrate speed sensor;
heating the substrate from a first substrate temperature to a second substrate temperature with the first heater assembly, based on the speed signal, to provide a speed-dependent heating of the substrate in the free-span area before the substrate comes into contact with the processing drum; and
depositing the evaporated material onto the substrate using the at least one deposition source as the substrate travels along the substrate transport path on the processing drum.