Soft sputtering magnetron system

摘要

A sputtering method and apparatus having at least one set of dual rotatable cylindrical sputtering targets mounted in a vacuum chamber. Magnet assemblies in hollow target cylinders provide erosion zones running long the parallel sides of a racetrack that act as target flux sources towards a substrate. These parallel erosion zones have a highly concentrated plasma density for rapid sputtering of the target and any reactive material. Features include the angular distance between normals to adjacent parallel erosion zones, the angle greater than 45° subtended at the center of the cylindrical target, placement of the substrate with respect to the targets, and pointing angles (orientation or tilt) of the racetracks toward the substrate and/or each other. These parameters form a relatively wide and efficient constant flux deposition region at the substrate, and allows for high deposition rates at constant reactive gas partial pressures with substantially uniform film stoichiometry and thickness.

主权项

1. A vacuum sputtering system for eroding and depositing target material on a substrate, the system comprising:
at least a first and a second cylindrical tubular target, each target having a longitudinal axis, an outside surface and a fixed length, each of the at least first and second cylindrical tubular targets being rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical tubular target, wherein the second rotatable cylindrical tubular target is positioned relative to the first target such that axes of the at least first and second targets are parallel to each other; and at least a first and a second magnet assembly respectively disposed within and along the length of the at least first and the second tubular targets, each magnet assembly configured to provide a magnetic field racetrack over the outside surface of each tubular target, the magnetic field racetrack confining a plasma gas to erode target material of each target from a pair of substantially parallel erosion zones along a length of each tubular target, each pair of erosion zones defining a source plane for each target and being separated by a distance there between; wherein each magnet assembly is configured to fix the distance between the parallel erosion zones in each target to create a combined area of target material flux for each tubular target, wherein the magnet assemblies are oriented relative to each other such that an included angle is formed between a pair of reference planes passing through the longitudinal axis of each target, and wherein the reference planes, each of which passes through the center of a tubular target and through the center of an erosion zone of that target, subtend an angle at the center of that target of between 45 and 90°.