Apparatus and method for multi-target physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure
First Claim
1. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a substrate, the material structure having plural layers deposited according to a predetermined sequence, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising:
- a single, contiguous vacuum chamber;
plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials;
at least one power source associated with the plural targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition;
a substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the substrate;
an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field proximate to the substrate; and
a mechanical indexing mechanism that moves the substrate support chuck and electromagnet relative to the plural targets in order to align and maintain the substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the targets to deposit the multi-layer material structure of the plural materials according to the predetermined sequence;
the electromagnet moving along with the substrate support chuck such that the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for depositing plural layers of materials on a substrate within a single vacuum chamber allows high-throughput deposition of structures such as these for GMR and MRAM application. An indexing mechanism aligns a substrate with each of plural targets according to the sequence of the layers in the structure. Each target deposits material using a static physical-vapor deposition technique. A shutter can be interposed between a target and a substrate to block the deposition process for improved deposition control. The shutter can also preclean a target or the substrate and can also be used for mechanical chopping of the deposition process. In alternative embodiments, plural substrates may be aligned sequentially with plural targets to allow simultaneous deposition of plural structures within the single vacuum chamber. A monitoring and control device can be wed to optimize equipment state, process state, and wafer state parameters by sensing each respective state during or after the deposition process.
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Citations
95 Claims
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1. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a substrate, the material structure having plural layers deposited according to a predetermined sequence, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising:
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a single, contiguous vacuum chamber;
plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials;
at least one power source associated with the plural targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition;
a substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the substrate;
an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field proximate to the substrate; and
a mechanical indexing mechanism that moves the substrate support chuck and electromagnet relative to the plural targets in order to align and maintain the substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the targets to deposit the multi-layer material structure of the plural materials according to the predetermined sequence;
the electromagnet moving along with the substrate support chuck such that the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 86)
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56. A method for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a substrate, the structure having at least a first layer comprised of a first material and a second layer comprised of a second material, the method comprising the steps of:
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disposing a first stationary target in a single, contiguous vacuum chamber, the first target comprised of the first material;
disposing a second stationary target in the vacuum chamber, the second target comprised of the second material;
supporting the substrate on a substrate support chuck coupled to a mechanical indexing mechanism in the vacuum chamber;
maintaining the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the first stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism;
depositing the first material from the first stationary target onto the substrate by applying electrical power to the first target, the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of the first material onto the substrate;
using the mechanical indexing mechanism to move the substrate support chuck, along with an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck and operable to support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the first or second targets, from the first stationary target to the second stationary target;
maintaining the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism;
applying a magnetic field proximate to the substrate with the electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target; and
depositing the second material from the second stationary target onto the substrate by applying electrical power to the second target, the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of the second material onto the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 64, 65, 66, 67, 87)
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- 59. The method according to claim 59 wherein the motor comprises an electrical stepper motor.
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68. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of plural material layers onto a substrate, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising:
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a single, contiguous vacuum chamber, plural stationary targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials;
a substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the substrate in a deposition configuration wherein the substrate is maintained in substantial alignment with any one of the plural targets;
an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field proximate to the substrate for supporting deposition of a magnetic material layer by any of the plural targets;
an indexing arm coupled to the substrate support chuck and operable to move the substrate support chuck and electromagnet relative to the plural targets in order to align and maintain the substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the plural targets;
an electrical power source associated with the plural targets and the substrate for supporting physical-vapor deposition; and
a mechanical shutter mechanism interposed between the plural targets and the substrate support chuck, the mechanical shutter mechanism having;
a deposition configuration for each of the plural targets wherein physical-vapor deposition onto the substrate from that target is allowed; and
a blocking configuration wherein physical-vapor deposition onto the substrate from that target is prevented. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. An apparatus for formation of multi-layer material structures using physical-vapor deposition of plural materials onto a substrate according to a predetermined sequence, the apparatus comprising:
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a single, contiguous vacuum chamber having a central axis;
plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber in a circular configuration about the central axis, the targets forming a target plane, the targets having the plural materials, at least one power source associated with the targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition process;
first and second substrate support chucks disposed in a substrate plane in the vacuum chamber for holding first and second substrates, the substrate plane substantially parallel to the target plane;
first and second indexing arms coupled to the first and second substrate support chucks;
an electromagnet coupled to at least one of the substrate support chucks, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field in the substrate plane; and
at least one indexing mechanism associated with the first and second indexing arms and substrate support chucks, the at least one indexing mechanism for rotating the first and second indexing arms, the substrate support chucks, and the electromagnet coupled to at least one of the substrate support chucks in the substrate plane to maintain each substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with one of the plural targets according to the predetermined sequence;
wherein the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79)
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80. A method for depositing first and second materials from first and second targets onto a substrate to form a multi-layer structure on the substrate, the structure having a first layer comprised of the first material and a second layer comprised of the second material, the method comprising the steps of:
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disposing the first and second targets in a single, contiguous vacuum chamber;
maintaining the substrate in substantial alignment with the first target in the vacuum chamber;
depositing the first material onto the substrate;
moving the substrate, along with an electromagnet associated with the substrate, with a mechanical indexing mechanism to align with the second target;
applying a magnetic field proximate to the substrate with the electromagnet disposed in the vacuum chamber, the electromagnet for supporting deposition of a magnetic material layer; and
depositing the second material onto the substrate, the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of the second material onto the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
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88. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a single substrate, the material structure having plural material layers deposited according to a predetermined sequence, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising:
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a single, contiguous vacuum chamber;
plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials;
at least one power source associated with the plural targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition;
a single substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the single substrate;
a mechanical indexing mechanism that moves the substrate relative to the plural targets and maintains the single substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the targets to deposit the multi-layer material structure of the plural materials according to the predetermined sequence; and
an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field in the substrate plane, the electromagnet moving along with the substrate relative to the plural targets such that the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90, 91)
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92. A method for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a single substrate, the structure having at least a first layer comprised of a first material and a second layer comprised of a second material, the method comprising the steps of:
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disposing a first stationary target in a single, contiguous vacuum chamber, the first target comprised of the first material;
disposing a second stationary target in the vacuum chamber, the second target comprised of the second material;
supporting the single substrate on a single substrate support chuck coupled to a mechanical indexing mechanism in the vacuum chamber;
maintaining the single substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the first stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism;
depositing the first material from the first stationary target onto the single substrate by applying electrical power to the first target;
using the mechanical indexing mechanism to move the substrate support chuck, along with an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, from the first stationary target to the second stationary target;
maintaining the single substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism;
applying a magnetic field proximate to the single substrate with the electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target, and depositing the second material from the second stationary target onto the single substrate by applying electrical power to the second target. - View Dependent Claims (93, 94, 95)
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Specification