COUNTER BASED TIME COMPENSATION TO REDUCE PROCESS SHIFTING IN REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTERING REACTOR

摘要

A method of processing a substrate includes: sputtering target material for a first amount of time using a first plasma formed from an inert gas and a first amount of power; determining a first counter, based on a product of a flow rate of the inert gas, the first amount of power, and the first amount of time; sputtering a metal compound material for a second amount of time using a second plasma formed from a process gas comprising a reactive gas and an inert gas and a second amount of power; determining a second counter based on a product of a flow rate of the process gas, the second amount of power, and the second amount of time; determining a third counter; and depositing a metal compound layer onto a predetermined number of substrates, wherein a deposition time for each substrate is adjusted based on the third counter.

主权项

1. A method of processing a substrate, comprising:
(a) sputtering target material from a metal target for a first amount of time using a first plasma formed from an inert gas and a first amount of power applied to the metal target; (b) determining a first counter, wherein the first counter is a product of a flow rate of the inert gas provided to sputter target material from the metal target, the first amount of power applied to ignite the first plasma to sputter the target material from the metal target, and the first amount of time for which the metal target is sputtered; (c) sputtering a metal compound material from the metal target for a second amount of time using a second plasma formed from a process gas comprising a reactive gas and an inert gas and a second amount of power applied to the metal target; (d) determining a second counter, wherein the second counter is a product of a flow rate of the process gas provided to sputter the metal compound material from the metal target, the second amount of power applied to ignite the second plasma to sputter the metal compound material from the metal target, and the second amount of time for which the metal compound material is sputtered; (e) determining a third counter, wherein the third counter is the first counter minus the second counter; and (f) depositing a metal compound layer onto a predetermined number of substrates, wherein a deposition time for each substrate is adjusted based on the third counter to deposit the metal compound layer.