Coating apparatus and method for real-timely monitoring thickness change of coating film

Abstract

A method for real-timely monitoring thickness change of a coating film is disclosed. In the method, a coating module having a chamber and a film thickness-monitoring module containing an SPR optical fiber sensor, a light source, a light-receiving detector, and optical fibers are first provided. The optical fibers are used to connect the SPR optical fiber sensor with the light source and the light-receiving detector. The SPR optical fiber sensor has a sensing area and is arranged in the chamber. The light source provides the SPR optical fiber sensor with light. Then, a substrate is put into the chamber. While coating process is performed on the substrate, a film is also formed on the sensing area of the SPR optical fiber sensor. The light-receiving detector receives signals output from the sensing area of the SPR optical fiber sensor and then outputs signals of light-intensity change.

1 . A coating apparatus for real-time monitoring, comprising:
 a coating module having a chamber, and   a thickness-monitoring module comprising a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) optical fiber sensor, a light source, a light-receiving detector, and a plurality of optical fibers,   wherein the optical fibers connect the SPR optical fiber sensor with the light source and the light-receiving detector; the SPR optical fiber sensor has a sensing area and is arranged in the chamber, the light source provides the sensing area of the SPR optical fiber sensor with light; and the light-receiving detector receives signals output from the sensing area of the SPR optical fiber sensor and then outputs a signal of a light-intensity change.   
     
     
         2 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a film is formed on the sensing area of the SPR optical fiber sensor while a coating process is performed on a substrate. 
     
     
         3 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the thickness-monitoring module further comprises a micro-processing unit, wherein the micro-processing unit has a thickness conversion database, receives the signals of the light-intensity change output from the light-receiving detector, converts the signals of the light-intensity change into thickness of the film according to the thickness conversion database, and outputs a dimension regarding the thickness of the film. 
     
     
         4 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the light source outputs single-wavelength light. 
     
     
         5 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the signal of light-intensity change output from the light-receiving detector is light-power change. 
     
     
         6 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the light-receiving detector is an optical power meter. 
     
     
         7 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the light source outputs multi-wavelength light. 
     
     
         8 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the signal of light-intensity change output from the light-receiving detector is a spectrogram. 
     
     
         9 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the light-receiving detector is a spectrometer. 
     
     
         10 . The coating apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the SPR optical fiber sensor comprises a core layer, a coating layer enclosing the core layer, a fillister exposing the core layer, and a pre-coated layer locating on the core layer exposed by the fillister, and the fillister is the sensing area.