SPUTTERING SYSTEM

• US 20110233049A1
• Filed: 08/21/2008
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Sell, Konrad, Hunsche, Berno, Ruske, Manfred, Diederich, Thomas, Henninger, Georg
• Application Number:
  US12/674,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20110233049A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/192.12
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32678 Electron cyclotron resonance
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3408 Planar magnetron sputtering

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (10) for sputtering at least one selected materialonto a substrate (5) and bringing about a reaction of this material, comprising a vacuum chamber (11), in which a substrate holder (12) is arranged, at least one magnetron sputtering mechanism (15), which is arranged in a workstation close to the substrate holder (12) and which has a target of the selected material which is suitable for producing a first plasma for sputtering at least one material onto the substrate (5), as well as a secondary plasma mechanism (16) for producing a secondary plasma, which is arranged in the workstation close to the magnetron sputtering mechanism (15) and close to the substrate holder (12), the sputtering mechanism (15) and the secondary plasma mechanism (16) forming a sputtering zone and an activation zone. At least two electromagnets (1, 3) and/or radiallymagnetized toric magnets as well as at least one magnetic multipole (2), which is formed from a plurality of permanent magnets, are arranged to produce magnetic fields to include the secondary plasma. The invention also relates to a method for coating a substrate, in which firstly material is deposited on a substrate by means of a sputtering process and the deposited material then reacts in a plasma, which contains the necessary reactive species, to form a compound, wherein the plasma density and the degree of ionization of the plasma are increased with the aid of magnetic fields, which are produced by at least two electromagnets (1, 3) and/or radially magnetized toric magnets as well as at least one magnetic multipole (2), which is formed from a plurality of permanent magnets.

Claims

1. A device for sputtering at least one selected material onto a substrate and bringing about a reaction of this material, the device comprising a vacuum chamber, in which a substrate holder is arranged, at least one magnetron sputtering mechanism, which is arranged in a workstation close to the substrate holder and which has a target of the selected material which is suitable for producing a first plasma for sputtering at least one material onto the substrate, as well as a secondary plasma mechanism for producing a secondary plasma, which is arranged in the workstation close to the magnetron sputtering mechanism (15) and close to the substrate holder, the sputtering mechanism and the secondary plasma mechanism forming a sputtering zone and an activation zone, wherein at least two electromagnets and/or radially magnetized toric magnets as well as at least one magnetic multipole, which is formed from a plurality of permanent magnets, are arranged to produce magnetic fields to include the secondary plasma.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate holder is a drum and in that at least one electromagnet and/or one radially magnetized toric magnet is arranged inside the drum.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein all the magnets arranged to produce the magnetic fields are arranged outside the vacuum chamber.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein all the magnets arranged to produce the magnetic fields are arranged inside the vacuum chamber.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one electromagnet for producing a magnetic alternating field is connected to an alternating voltage source.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one electromagnet for producing a constant magnetic field is connected to a direct voltage source.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one electromagnet is operated in such a way that a superimposed constant and alternating field is produced.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the secondary plasma mechanism is a microwave generator.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the microwave generator is set up to produce a pulsed microwave.

10. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the maximum magnetic flux density of the magnetic fields produced by the arranged magnets corresponds at least to the necessary magnetic flux density matched to the microwave frequency used to produce electron cyclotron resonance (ECR).

11. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a potential is applied at the substrate holder, which is different from the potential of the vacuum chamber.

12. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the secondary plasma brings about a reaction to convert the selected material into an oxide, nitride, carbide, hydride, sulfide, oxynitride or mixtures thereof.

13. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the secondary plasma is an oxygen-rich plasma and in that the reaction brought about is an oxidation.

14. A method for coating a substrate, in which firstly material is deposited on a substrate by means of a sputtering process and the deposited material then reacts in a plasma, which contains the necessary reactive species, to form a compound, wherein the plasma density and the degree of ionization of the plasma are increased with the aid of magnetic fields, which are produced by at least two electromagnets and/or radially magnetized toric magnets as well as at least one magnetic multipole, which is formed from a plurality of permanent magnets.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the maximum magnetic flux density of the magnetic fields produced by the arranged magnets corresponds at least to the necessary magnetic flux density matched to the microwave frequency used, to produce electron cyclotron resonance (ECR).