Noncrucible Method of and Apparatus for the Vapor Deposition of Material Upon a Substrate Using Voltaic Arc in Vacuum

The present invention relates to subject matter contained in disclosure documents Nos. 78,337 filed 26 Feb. 1979, 78,334 filed 26 Feb. 1979, 78,329 filed 26 Feb. 1979 and 82,283 filed 5 July 1979, hereby included by reference in their entireties.

My present invention relates to vapor deposition and, more particularly, to a method of and to an apparatus for effecting vapor deposition of a material, generally a metal, upon a substrate. Specifically the invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for applying anticorrosion, protective, decorative or semiconductor coatings upon a substrate or the formation through synthesis of compounds on the substrate with material deposited thereon, e.g. in the formation of carbides and silicides.

In the deposition of materials from a vapor phase onto a substrate, a process which is generally carried out in vacuum, the material to be deposited upon the substrate is generally vaporized with high energy and caused to migrate to the substrate at which deposition takes place.

Prior techniques for the generation of vapor by the heating of a body of the substance to be deposited do not always result in satisfactory uniform deposits over large surface areas.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and apparatus for the deposition of a material upon a substrate whereby disadvantages of prior art techniques are avoided.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of depositing from a vapor phase materials of different composition, including practically all existing metals and alloys, on practically any substrate in a highly uniform manner at low operating cost and with high energy efficiency.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of and apparatus for the high speed coating of large-area surfaces.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved method of forming silicides, carbides and other compounds on a substrate.

These objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the present invention, in a method for vapor depositing a material upon a substrate which comprises the step of striking an electric arc between a pool of molten material to be vaporized, thereby directly vaporizing the material on the surface of the pool and permitting transfer of the vaporized material in the vapor state to the substrate, e.g. in a vacuum chamber.

According to the invention, the pool of molten metal can be formed also by the electric arc, e.g. by striking this arc between an electrode and a body of the material to be deposited. Advantageously, the body of the material to be vaporized has a larger cross section than the arc-striking electrode so that a pool is formed of the molten material in a cavity of this body. This, of course, eliminates the need for a crucible or container for the pool of the molten material.

It has been found to be advantageous to move the electrode into and out of contact with the pool of molten metal, thereby depositing some of the melt upon the electrode and permitting the heating of the electrode tip to vaporize at least in part the material which is to be deposited upon the substrate.

Alternatively or in addition, a crucible or container can be provided for the bath or pool of the molten material and the arc can be struck at the upper surface of this bath or the material can be permitted to precolate downwardly from the melt, e.g. through openings in the crucible, to an arc struck therebelow at which vaporization is effected.

According to yet another feature of the invention, the crucible or container for the melt can comprise a sphere formed with the electrode which extends along a diameter of the sphere, preferably vertically, with the sphere being laterally open, e.g. through a vacuum lock, into an outwardly widening chamber which terminates at the substrate.

The system of the present invention can be used for generating silica, silicide or carbide coatings upon the substrate, for producing silicides by the reaction of silicon with a substrate material upon deposition of the silicon upon that substrate, or for coating substrates with practically any desired metal or alloy to form protective coatings or coatings for other purposes. The system can be used in the metallurgical, chemical, electrical, electronic, electrovacuum, optical, rocketry and aerospace and nuclear industries and has been found to be especially effective for the generation of mirror-like coatings, reflectors, anti-corrosion coatings and films for products of flat or intricate configuration, for producing multilayer coatings in films, e.g. for semiconductor components and high-ohmic resistance components, and simply wherever surface modification of a substrate is required and can be effected by transfer from the vapor phase of a material which can exist in molten form to the substrate.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram in elevational view illustrating an apparatus for carrying out vapor deposition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of another apparatus wherein, however, the vapor deposited material is collected on a vertically reciprocatable electrode;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section, also in diagrammatic form, illustrating an apparatus for depositing material upon a substrate disposed below the pool of metal;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an axial cross-sectional view of another apparatus for depositing material upon a substrate according to this invention; and

FIG. 6 is an axial cross-sectional view of a highly compact portable apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention.

In FIG. 1 I have shown a system utilizing a simple arc method in accordance with the present invention for obtaining mirror-like protective coatings upon substrates cam or for evaporating various metals or metal alloys, including heat-resistant and refractory metals, to apply coatings thereof to the substrate.

As is apparent from FIG. 1, the basic apparatus can include a vacuum chamber, not shown, which can be similar to the vacuum chamber of FIG. 6 and in which a metal electrode 1 can be fed by an electrode feeder 7 toward an electrode body 2 to form the pool 3 of molten metal with which the arc 4 is struck.

The electrode body 2 is held in a fixture or holder 5 and the direct-current source applies the arc current across the electrode 1 and the body 2 via a conventional arc stabilizing circuit represented at 8.

It has been found to be advantageous to provide the relatively small cross-section electrode 1 with a thermal regulator 6 tending to prevent overheating of this electrode.

Since the cross section of body 2 is substantially larger than that of the electrode 1, the pool 3 lies in a concave recess formed in situ in the body 2.

The apparatus of FIG. 1, utilizing electrodes 1 and 2 of titanium, aluminum, tungsten, tantalum or copper, strikes an arc at a temperature of 5000.degree. to 7000.degree. C. to generate vapor of the metal of the pool 3 which traverses the distance of 10 to 15 cm to the substrate 10 and form a coating of the metal thereon. The pool 3 can be formed by a mixture of metal contributed by the electrodes 1 and 2, thereby depositing an alloy of the metals of the two electrodes upon the substrate. Preferably the electrode is composed of titanium while the molten metal predominantly consists of aluminum, tungsten, tantalum or copper.

The apparatus of FIG. 1, without substantial modification, can be utilized in a noncrucible method of generating protective coatings of carbides, for producing silicide coatings on the substrate or for forming carbide or silicide and even silicon carbide layers upon the substrate.

In this case, the apparatus of FIG. 1 is used, again in the usual vacuum chamber, although the electrode 1 can be composed of silicon or carbon while the electrode 2 is composed of a metal whose silicide or carbide is to be formed or, in the case of a deposit of silicon upon the substrate, can also consist of silicon.

For example, when a silicon carbide deposit upon the substrate 10 is desired, the electrode 1 may consist of silicon while the electrode 2 is a carbon block in which a pool 3 of silicon and solubilized carbon is received.

The vapors are transferred to the substrate and deposit in a silicon carbide layer thereon. The substrate may be titanium and the deposit formed on the substrate may be a mixture of titanium silicide and titanium carbide.

Alternatively, when the electrode 1 is composed of silicon or carbon, and the electrode body 2 is composed of titanium, titanium carbide or silicide can be deposited on a substrate of a different composition.

When a slight oxidizing atmosphere is provided in the evacuated chamber, silicon dioxide deposits are formed on the substrate.

Obviously the apparatus of FIG. 1 is particularly effective in the production of semiconductors.

The thermoregulator 6 may be duplicated along the length of the electrode 1 and additional thermoregulators may be provided for the electrode body 2 to prevent overheating thereof.

When either the electrode 1 or the body 2 is composed of silicon and the other is composed of carbon, silicon carbide is generated by the reaction and deposits in a higher purity than that of the original silica and carbon.

When both of the electrodes are composed of silicon, high density silica and silicon deposits can be obtained as is particularly desirable for the coating of semiconductors.

The apparatus of FIG. 2 is generally similar to that of FIG. 1 but operates under somewhat different principles, the evaporation being effected at least in part from the wetted upper electrode 101.

In this figure, elements which correspond to those of FIG. 1 utilize similar reference numerals differing in the hundreds position.

In FIG. 2, the electrode feeder 107 is coupled with a vertical reciprocator 112 which imparts a reciprocation to the electrode 101 in the direction of the arrow 114 so as to periodically plunge the tip of the electrode 101 into the pool 103 of the molten metal formed in the electrode body 102.

Upon rising from this pool to restrike the arc 104, the coating 113 of molten metal upon the electrode 101 is evaporated and the deposit is formed upon the substrates 110.

The electrode body 102 is shown in the holder 105 and the arc current supply is formed by the direct current source 109 and the stabilizer 108 in the manner described, the electrode 101 being provided with the thermoregulator 106.

This system has been found to be particularly effective, in a modification of the foregoing example, when the electrode 101 is composed of titanium and the pool 103 is formed of aluminum.

In FIG. 3 I have shown an embodiment of the invention in which the vapor is deposited upon a substrate 210 disposed below a crucible 217 in the form of an upwardly open ring containing the molten metal 203, the crucible being mounted in a holder or frame 205.

Here the upper electrode 201 is in the form of a spherical segment which functions as a reflector so that, when an arc 204 is struck between the electrode 201 and the melt in the crucible 217, the vapors pass upwardly as represented by the arrows 219 and are reflected downwardly to focus upon the substrate 210 as represented by the arrows 218.

The direct current source 209 is here connected across the electrode 201 and the crucible 217 via the arc stabilizer 208 and the upper electrode 201, mounted on the rod 216, is vertically positioned by the feeder 207 and horizontally positioned by an auxiliary mechanism 215 which adjusts the position of the electrode 201 over the evaporating metal.

In this embodiment, the electrode 201 can be composed of titanium, molybdenum or tungsten while the molten metal can be composed of aluminum or copper and the crucible 2 of graphite.

In FIG. 4 I have shown another embodiment of the invention in which the vapors flow downwardly to deposit upon the substrate 310.

In this case, the upwardly open crucible 317 containing the molten metal 303 can be supplied with additional molten from a ladle or other sources represented at 322 or with solid metal which is melted in the crucible 317. The latter can be heated by auxiliary means such as an inductive heater 323 and is supported in a holder 305.

The bottom of the crucible 317 is formed with apertures 321 at which droplets of the molten metal appear, these droplets being vaporized by the arc 304 struck between the electrode 301 and the bottom of the crucible 317.

The temperature in the region of the arc can be controlled by an auxiliary inductive means 324 and the electrode 301 can be cooled as represented by the cooling element 306.

Electrode 301 is fed toward the crucible 317 by the electrode holder 307 and the arc is maintained by an arc stabilizer 308 connected to the direct current source 309.

In this embodiment, the molten metal may be copper.

In place of the auxiliary device 324, a substrate to be coated may be provided at this location, e.g. in the form of a titanium ring, which can collect the vapor in the form of a coating.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 evaporates the molten metal as it is formed in a closed space, the vapors being discharged through apertures 425 on to the substrate 410.

In this case, the pool of liquid is formed by melting the electrode 402 supported by the holder 405 by feeding the counter electrode 401 via the electrode feeder 407 through a central bore 426 in the electrode 402, the electrode 401 passing through an insulating sleeve 427 forming a guide. A temperature regulator 406 is provided coaxially around the two electrodes adjacent the arc 404 to prevent overheating in the region ahead of the apertures 425. The deposit is formed on the substrate 410.

The current is supplied between the electrodes through the arc stabilizer 408 and the direct current source 409 in the manner described previously.

FIG. 6 shows a portable voltaic arc device for depositing reflective, anticorrosive, protective and semiconductor type metal, silicide and carbide coatings using the principles described previously.

This apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber 500 which is formed at its upper end with a handle 530 enabling the portable unit to be readily transported.

Within this chamber, there is provided a hollow sphere 517, the lower part of which forms a crucible for the molten metal 503, coated internally with a high-temperature heat-resistant (refractory) material such as aluminum oxide.

The upper portion of this sphere is coated at 531 with a reflective layer concentrating the heat reflected from the bath back onto the latter.

An arc 504 is struck between an electrode 501 and the bath 503, the electrode being fed by the unit 507 toward the bath as the electrode material is consumed.

Additional metal, e.g. in solid form, is fed to the bath as a rod 532 which also is connected to the feeder 533 so that as the bath is consumed, additional metal is supplied thereto.

The electrode 501 and the bath 503 are connected to opposite terminals of an arc stabilizer and a direct current source in the manner previously described.

A tubular electrode 502 surrounds the rod 532.

The lower part of the chamber 500 is provided with an airpump as represented at 533, the latter evacuating the chamber containing the hollow sphere 517 and, via a vacuum hose 534, via a valve 535, an adapter 536 of outwardly divergent configuration which can be connected to a lateral aperture 525 of the hollow sphere 517.

The chamber 536 can be formed with a heating coil 537 to prevent undesired condensation of vapor thereon.

Between the aperture 525 and the adapter 536 there is provided a vacuum lock 538 and a mounting arrangement 539 for holding a variety of adapters of different shapes and sizes.

The adapter 536 is also formed with a vacuum gasket 540 whereby the adapter can bear against the substrate 510 to be coated.

The portable unit shown in FIG. 6 is carried to the location of the substrate 510 to be coated and the appropriate adapter 536 is mounted on the fitting 539 and the gasket 540 pressed against the surface 510 to be coated. The arc current is supplied and the system is evacuated by the air pump 533, thereby melting the metal and forming the bath 503 within the hollow sphere. The gate 538 is then opened and the vapors permitted to pass onto the substrate 510 at least in part by pressure differential as controlled by the valve 535 maintained between the interior of the sphere 517 and the adapter 536.

Practically any product at any site can be coated and the use of a variety of adapters of different shapes and sizes enables coating of even intricate bodies without moving them from the area in which they are to be used. The device can be collapsible so as to enable it to be used to provide coatings inside ducts and the like.

The apparatus shown in the drawing, without the adapter 536, can be used as a propellant for individuals or equipment in space.

Upon generation of the arc, one need only open the gate 538 to discharge a stream through the aperture 525 and effect propulsion in the opposite direction. The vacuum in space provides a natural vacuum for the device and no air pump 533 is then required. Practically any waste found in space applications can be utilized in the vessel 517 to generate such propulsion .