PHYSICAL VAPOR PROCESSING OF A SURFACE WITH NON-UNIFORMITY COMPENSATION

摘要

Apparatus and method for compensating process-related asymmetries produced in physical vapor processing of a surface. The invention may be used on a substrate (12) when sputtering material from a source or when using an ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD) apparatus (19) to either deposit a film onto or remove material from a substrate (12). A compensating magnet (54), (76) is configured and positioned to produce a compensating magnetic field (66), (78) to offset the effects of chamber (13) and process-related asymmetries, particularly those that affect the distribution of plasma processing on a substrate (12) where the plasma (23) has been otherwise symmetrically produced. Asymmetries about an axis of the substrate (12), for example, are corrected, in, for example, systems such as sputter coating machines where a rotating magnet cathode or other such technique produces an initially symmetrical plasma (23). Asymmetrical non-uniformities in deposited films are reduced to an acceptable amount and substrates (12) may be cleaned in situ prior to metallization.