Patent Publication Number: US-2022228250-A1

Title: Crucible and vapor deposition apparatus

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to a crucible and a vapor deposition apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As a kind of container, the crucible is mainly used for burning solid materials, and can be used for the vapor deposition, concentration or crystallization of materials, such as the vapor deposition process. During the vapor deposition process, the production line operator will first place the crucible in the oxygen-free copper base in the machine, and then add the vapor deposition material to the crucible. Then, the subsequent process operations are continued to do, the wafer is placed on the plating pot, and then the chamber door is closed to perform the vapor deposition process. After the process is over, the production line operator first take out the product, and then add the required vapor deposition materials to the crucible again. Then, the aforementioned vapor deposition process is continued to repeat production mode. 
     However, because the crucible is placed in the heating container by the production line operator, human factors cannot be effectively controlled. It is easy to cause the crucible to be placed incorrectly, causing the position of the crucible to shift, so that one side of the crucible leans against the wall of the oxygen-free copper base. When the crucible is leaning against the wall of the copper base, it is easy to cause the side of the crucible against the copper base to cool faster. That is, one side of the crucible that is not against the wall is heated differently from the other side of the crucible that is against the wall, resulting in uneven heating. 
     Moreover, since the side of the crucible against the wall cools faster, the power usage of the side of the crucible against the wall during the manufacturing process will be greater than that of the side of the crucible not against the wall. Otherwise the power supply is easy to jump and unstable. In other words, when the crucible is leaning against the wall of the copper base, the power cannot be controlled stably during the manufacturing process. 
     Furthermore, the crucible against the wall of the copper base is also easier to damage. The service life of the crucible is not only reduced, but the damaged crucible needs to be replaced immediately, which will also increase the production cost. 
     Therefore, how to improve and provide a crucible and a vapor deposition apparatus to avoid the above-mentioned problems is an issue to be solved in the industry. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides a crucible and a vapor deposition apparatus, which can uniformly heat the materials in the crucible, can stably control the power supply, increase the service life of the crucible, and reduce production costs. 
     One embodiment of the present invention provides a crucible including a crucible body and at least one protrusion. The crucible body has a containing groove. The protrusion is disposed on an outer wall surface of the crucible body. The protrusion protrudes outward from the outer wall of the crucible body. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention provides a vapor deposition apparatus including a metal base and a crucible. The crucible is disposed in the metal base. The crucible includes a crucible body and at least one protrusion. The crucible body has a containing groove, and the containing groove is used for adding a vapor deposition material. The protrusion is disposed on an outer wall surface of the crucible body. The protrusion protrudes outward from the outer wall of the crucible body, and the protrusion abuts the inner wall of the metal base. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer wall surface is an outer wall of the crucible body. The protrusion is a ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the outer wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer wall surface is a bottom wall of the crucible body. The protrusion is a ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the bottom wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer wall surface is an outer wall and a bottom wall of the crucible body. Each protrusion comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the first protrusion is a first ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the outer wall, and the second protrusion is a second ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the bottom wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer wall surface is an outer wall of the crucible body, and the protrusion is arranged along the circumferential direction of the outer wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer wall surface is a bottom wall of the crucible body, and the protrusion is arranged along the circumferential direction of the bottom wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer wall surface is an outer wall and a bottom wall of the crucible body. A protrusion comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the first protrusion is arranged along the circumferential direction of the outer wall, and the second protrusion is arranged along the circumferential direction of the bottom wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the crucible body includes a filling end surface, a bottom wall and an outer wall. The containing groove is connected to the filling end surface, and the outer wall is connected between the filling end surface and the bottom wall. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the metal base is a copper base. 
     Based on the above, in the crucible and the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, a protrusion is provided on the outer wall of the crucible, and the outer wall surface can be the outer wall or bottom wall of the crucible body. In this way, no matter how the crucible is placed in the metal base, by the protrusion abutting against the inner wall of the metal base, the crucible can be kept in the middle position of the metal base. And, the crucible will not deviate, nor will one side of the crucible lean against the wall of the oxygen-free copper base. Therefore, when the crucible is used, the materials in the crucible can be uniformly heated, and the power can be stably controlled. 
     In order to further understand and understand the features, objectives, and functions of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the crucible of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2A  is a top view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2B  is a top view of another embodiment of the protrusion of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the crucible of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4A  is a top view of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 4B  is a top view of the other embodiment of the protrusion of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the other embodiment of the crucible of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The specific implementation of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. The following embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention more clearly, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. 
     In the description of each embodiment, when an element is described as “above” and “below” another element, it refers to a situation where it is directly or indirectly above or below the other element, which may contain other elements set in between. The so-called “directly” means that there are no other intermediary elements in between. Descriptions such as “above” or “below” are described based on the drawings, but also include other possible direction changes. For the convenience and clarity of illustration, the thickness or size of each element in the drawings is shown in an exaggerated, omitted, or sketched manner, and the size of each element is not exactly its actual size. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the crucible of the present invention. Please refer to  FIG. 1 ; the crucible of this embodiment is used for a vapor deposition process. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the crucible has a crucible body  1  and at least one protrusion  20 . The crucible body  1  has a bottom wall  12  and an outer wall  13 . The crucible body  1  is a cylindrical container, and the crucible body  1  has a containing groove  14 . The crucible body  1  includes a filling end surface  11 , the containing groove  14  is connected to the filling end surface  11 , and the outer wall  13  is connected between the filling end surface  11  and the bottom wall  12 . 
     In the embodiment, the protrusion  20  is disposed on the outer wall surface of the crucible body  1 , and the protrusion  20  protrudes outward from the outer wall surface of the crucible body  1 . The outer wall surface is, for example, the outer wall  13  of the crucible body  1 , that is, the protrusion  20  is a ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the outer wall  13 . Refer to  FIG. 2A  for the ring-shaped protrusion structure. The protrusion  20  forms a ring-shaped protrusion structure around the circumferential direction of the outer wall  13 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 1 , along the axial direction of the crucible body  1 , the protrusion  20  is adjacent to one end of the filling end surface  11 . The distance from the protrusion  20  to the bottom wall  12  is greater than the distance from the protrusion  20  to the filling end surface  11 , so that the protrusion  20  is farther away from one end of the bottom wall  12 ; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. In an unillustrated embodiment, the protrusion is adjacent to one end of the bottom wall, that is, the distance from the protrusion to the bottom wall is less than the distance from the protrusion to the filling end surface. Alternatively, the distance from the protrusion to the bottom wall is equal to the distance from the protrusion to the filling end surface. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2B , the number of protrusions  22  can be multiple, and the plurality of protrusions  22  are arranged along the circumferential direction of the outer wall  13 . In other words, the protrusion of this embodiment can be a ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the outer wall  13  as shown in  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 2A . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 2B , a plurality of protrusions  22  extend outward on the outer wall  13 , and the plurality of protrusions  22  are not connected together. Certainly, in an unillustrated embodiment, part of the protrusions  22  can be connected together, while some of the protrusions  22  are not connected together. In addition, the protrusions  22  can be arranged at the same height position or different height positions adjacent to the bottom wall  12  or far from the bottom wall  12 , and can be adjusted depending on the actual product. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the crucible of the present invention. Please refer to  FIG. 3 ; it should be noted that the crucible of  FIG. 3  is similar to the crucible of  FIG. 1 , in which the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and have the same functions, and the description will not be repeated. The difference between the crucible in  FIG. 3  and the crucible in  FIG. 1  is that the outer wall surface here is the bottom wall  12  of the crucible body  1 , that is, the protrusion  30  is a ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the bottom wall  12 . Refer to  FIG. 4A  for the ring-shaped protrusion structure. The protrusion  30  forms a ring-shaped protrusion structure around the circumferential direction of the bottom wall  12 , and the ring-shaped protrusion structure is disposed on the edge side of the bottom wall  12 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In an unillustrated embodiment, the ring-shaped protrusion structure can be disposed inside the bottom wall  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4B , the number of protrusions  32  can be multiple, and the plurality of protrusions  32  are arranged along the circumferential direction of the bottom wall  12 . In other words, the protrusion of this embodiment can be a ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the bottom wall  12  as shown in  FIG. 3  or 
       FIG. 4A . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 4B , a plurality of protrusions  32  extend outward on the bottom wall  12 , and the plurality of protrusions  32  are not connected together. Certainly, in an unillustrated embodiment, part of the protrusions  32  can be connected together, while some of the protrusions  32  are not connected together. In addition, the protrusions  32  can be arranged at the same or different positions adjacent to the edge side or inside of the bottom wall  12 , and can be adjusted depending on the actual product. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the other embodiment of the crucible of the present invention. Please refer to  FIG. 5 ; it should be noted that the crucible of  FIG. 3  is similar to the crucible of  FIG. 1  and the crucibles of  FIG. 3 , in which the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and have the same functions, and the description will not be repeated. The outer wall surface of the crucible in  FIG. 5  is the bottom wall  12  and the outer wall  13  of the crucible body  1 , and the protrusion  50  includes a first protrusion  52  and a second protrusion  54 . The first protrusion  52  is a first ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the outer wall  13 , and the first ring-shaped protrusion structure is formed by the first protrusion  52  around the circumferential direction of the outer wall  13 . The second protrusion  54  is a second ring-shaped protrusion structure protruding outward from the bottom wall  12 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 5 , along the axial direction of the crucible body  1 , the first protrusion  52  is adjacent to one end of the filling end surface  11 . The distance from the first protrusion  52  to the bottom wall  12  is greater than the distance from the first protrusion  52  to the filling end surface  11 , so that the first protrusion  52  to is farther away from one end of the bottom wall  12 ; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. In an unillustrated embodiment, the first protrusion is adjacent to one end of the bottom wall, that is, the distance from the first protrusion to the bottom wall is less than the distance from the first protrusion to the filling end surface. Alternatively, the distance from the first protrusion to the bottom wall is equal to the distance from the first protrusion to the filling end surface. 
     In an unillustrated embodiment, the first protrusion  52  can also be as shown in the protrusion  22  of  FIG. 2B , that is, the number of the first protrusion  52  can be multiple, and the plurality of first protrusions  52  are arranged along the circumferential direction of the outer wall  13 . Certainly, part of the first protrusions  52  can be connected together, while some of the first protrusions  52  are not connected together. In addition, the first protrusions  52  can be arranged at the same height position or different height positions adjacent to the bottom wall  12  or far from the bottom wall  12 , and can be adjusted depending on the actual product. 
     In the embodiment, the second protrusion  54  is arranged along the circumferential direction of the bottom wall  12 . The second protrusion  54  forms a ring-shaped protrusion structure around the circumferential direction of the bottom wall  12 , and the ring-shaped protrusion structure is disposed on the edge side of the bottom wall  12 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In an unillustrated embodiment, the ring-shaped protrusion structure can be disposed inside the bottom wall  12 . In an unillustrated embodiment, the second protrusion  54  can also be as shown in the protrusion  32  of  FIG. 4B , that is, the number of the second protrusion  54  can be multiple, and the plurality of second protrusion  54  are arranged along the circumferential direction of the bottom wall  12 . Certainly, part of the second protrusions  54  can be connected together, while some of the second protrusions  54  are not connected together. In addition, the second protrusions  54  can be arranged at the same or different positions adjacent to the edge side or inside of the bottom wall  12 , and can be adjusted depending on the actual product. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention. Please refer to  FIG. 6 ; the crucible shown in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 5  of this embodiment is used for a vapor deposition process. The present invention does not limit the type of vapor deposition apparatus. The vapor deposition apparatus includes a metal base  60  and a crucible as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5 . A tank  62  is provided in the metal base  60 , and the metal base  60  is an oxygen-free copper base. The crucible can be contained in the tank  62 . And, the containing groove  14  of the crucible body  1  is used for adding a vapor deposition material M. The vapor deposition apparatus uses a heating source  70  to heat the vapor deposition material M in the crucible body  1 . In an embodiment, the heating source  70  can be an electron beam, that is, an electron beam is used to heat the vapor deposition material M in the crucible body  1 . Since the first protrusion  52  and the second protrusion  54  abut against the inner wall of the tank  62  in the metal base  60 , no matter how the crucible is placed, the crucible can be kept in the middle position of the metal base  60 . And, the crucible will not deviate, nor will one side of the crucible lean against the wall of the oxygen-free copper base. Therefore, when the crucible is used, the materials in the crucible can be uniformly heated, and the power can be stably controlled, the service life of the crucible can be improved, and the production cost can be reduced. The crucible shown in  FIG. 5  is taken as an example above, and the crucible shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4  can also be used in the above-mentioned vapor deposition apparatus. 
     In summary, in the crucible and the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, a protrusion is provided on the outer wall of the crucible, and the outer wall surface can be the outer wall or bottom wall of the crucible body. In this way, no matter how the crucible is placed in the metal base, by the protrusion abutting against the inner wall of the metal base, the crucible can be kept in the middle position of the metal base. And, the crucible will not deviate, nor will one side of the crucible lean against the wall of the oxygen-free copper base. Therefore, when the crucible is used, the materials in the crucible can be uniformly heated, and the power can be stably controlled. 
     The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any other equivalent modifications or alterations of the present invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached claims.