High-density plasma for ionized metal deposition capable of exciting a plasma wave

• US 6,306,265 B1
• Filed: 04/11/2000
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Fu, Jianming, Forster, John, Gopalraja, Praburam, Chen, Fusen
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nam
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cantelmo, Gregg
• Application Number:
  US09/546,798
• Time in Patent Office: 560 Days
• Field of Search: 204/298.19, 204/298.2, 204/298.22, 204/192.12
• US Class Current: 204/192.12
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3408 Planar magnetron sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3455 Movable magnets

Abstract

A magnetron especially advantageous for low-pressure plasma sputtering or sustained self-sputtering having reduced area but full target coverage. The magnetron includes an outer pole face surrounding an inner pole face with a gap therebetween. The outer pole of the magnetron of the invention is smaller than that of a circular magnetron similarly extending from the center to the periphery of the target. A preferred triangular shape having a small apex angle of 20 to 30° may be formed from outer bar magnets of one magnetic polarity enclosing an inner magnet of the other magnetic polarity. The magnetron allows the generation of plasma waves in the neighborhood of 22 MHz which interact with the 1 to 20 eV electrons of the plasma to thereby increase the plasma density.

Claims

1. A magnetron assembly positionable at a backside of a sputtering target and rotatable about a center position of said target, comprising a single magnetron asymmetrically disposed about said center position and including:

a first pole of a first magnetic polarity comprising first magnets of a first magnetic polarity arranged in a triangular shape, at least two of said first magnets being bar magnets arranged on long sides of said triangular shape and being inclined to each other by between 10° and

35°

; and

a second pole of a second magnetic polarity disposed inside of said triangular shape and separated from said first magnets by a gap extending along a surface of said target.

2. The magnetron assembly of claim 1, wherein said angle is between 20°

and 30°

.

3. The magnetron assembly of claim 1, wherein said first magnets include a third bar magnet arranged adjacent to a diverging end of said two of said first magnets.

4. The magnetron assembly of claim 3, wherein said first magnets are all rectangularly shaped.

5. The magnetron assembly of claim 1, wherein said second pole includes a single second magnet.

6. The magnetron assembly of claim 5, wherein said second magnet is a bar magnet.

7. The magnetron assembly of claim 5, wherein said second magnet is circular.

8. The magnetron assembly of claim 5, wherein said first and second magnets face said target without a magnetic pole face therebetween.

9. The magnetron assembly of claim 1, further comprising a magnetic yoke disposed on a side of said first and second magnets opposite said target.

10. The magnetron assembly of claim 1 incorporated into a plasma sputtering system having a DC power supply connected to said target, wherein a level of DC power supplied to said target is sufficiently high to generate a first plasma wave that is converted into a second plasma wave having a frequency between 5 and 75 MHz.

11. The magnetron assembly of claim 10, wherein said frequency is between 10 and 50 MHz.

12. The magnetron assembly of claim 10, wherein said first plasma wave is a lower hybrid mode.

13. A DC plasma sputter reactor, comprising:

a vacuum chamber having a substantially circular target with a substantially planar central portion facing a substrate to be sputter coated;

a DC power supply negatively biasing said target with respect to said chamber;

a magnetron comprising a first pole of a first magnetic polarity substantially enclosing a second pole of a second magnetic polarity, said first and second poles being rotatable as a unit about a center of said target, said magnetron being disposed on a side of said target opposite said substrate;

wherein a level of power supplied by said DC power supply to said target is sufficiently high to generate a first plasma wave that is converted into a second plasma wave having a frequency between 5 and 75 MHz.

14. The reactor of claim 13, wherein said frequency is between 10 and 50 MHz.

15. The reactor of claim 13, wherein said first plasma wave is a lower hybrid mode.

16. The reactor of claim 13, wherein a phase velocity of said second plasma wave equals a phase velocity of an electron having an energy of between 1 and 20 eV.

17. A method of sputtering, comprising the steps of:

providing a sputtering target having a planar central portion sealed to a plasma reaction chamber;

rotating a magnetron about a center of said target, said magnetron having an inner pole of one magnetic polarity surrounded by a magnetically stronger outer pole of a second magnetic polarity;

DC biasing said sputtering target with respect to chamber to create a plasma within said chamber to thereby sputter said target, said DC biasing being sufficiently strong to launch a first plasma wave of a first frequency;

converting said first plasma wave to a second plasma wave of a second frequency of less than 20% of said first frequency; and

interacting said second plasma wave with electrons of said plasma.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said electrons have energies in a range of 1 to 20 eV and said second plasma wave has a phase velocity equal to at least some of said electrons.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said converting step is a parametric conversion step.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein said first plasma wave is a lower hybrid wave.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein said magnetron is an unbalanced magnetron having sufficient magnetic strength in conjunction with said DC biasing to launch said first plasma wave that is converted to said second plasma wave.

22. A DC plasma sputter reactor, comprising:

a vacuum chamber having a substantially circular target with a substantially planar central portion facing a substrate to be sputter coated;

a DC power supply negatively biasing said target with respect to said chamber;

an unbalanced magnetron comprising a first pole of a first magnetic polarity substantially enclosing a second pole of a second magnetic polarity, a total magnetic flux of said first pole being at least 150% of a magnetic flux of said second pole, said second pole having no aperture therein, said first and second poles being rotatable as a unit about a center of said target, said magnetron being disposed on a side of said target opposite said substrate and rotating about a center thereof;

wherein a level of power supplied by said DC power supply to said target is sufficiently high and said unbalanced magnetron produces a magnetic configuration with a sufficient magnetic strength to generate a first plasma wave that is converted into a second plasma wave having a frequency between 5 and 75 MHz.