Film forming apparatus and film forming method
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsAtsushi Takeuchi, Toru Kitada, Kanto Nakamura, Atsushi Gomi
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Abstract
A film forming apparatus for forming a film on a substrate by using a magnetron sputtering method. The film forming apparatus includes: a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate; a target holder configured to hold a target made of a ferromagnetic material to face the substrate holder; a magnet provided on a surface of the target holder opposite to the substrate holder, and configured to leak a magnetic field to a front surface of the target held by the target holder that is a surface close to the substrate holder; and a magnetic field strength measurement device configured to measure a strength of the magnetic field.
Claims14
A film forming apparatus comprising:
- a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate for forming a film thereon by a magnetron sputtering;
- a target holder configured to hold a target made of a ferromagnetic material to face the substrate holder and extend in a depth direction of the film forming apparatus;
- a magnet provided on a surface of the target holder opposite to the substrate holder, and configured to leak a magnetic field to a front surface of the target held by the target holder that is a surface close to the substrate holder;
- a driver configured to swing the magnet along a back surface of the target holder in the depth direction of the film forming apparatus;
- and
- a Gauss meter including a hole probe with a hole sensor provided therein and configured to measure a strength of the magnetic field,
- wherein a tip of the hole probe is provided at a position substantially coincident with a center of the target held by the target holder in the depth direction of the film forming apparatus.
A film forming apparatus comprising:
- a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate for forming a film thereon by a magnetron sputtering;
- a target holder configured to hold a target made of a ferromagnetic material to face the substrate holder;
- a magnet provided on a surface of the target holder opposite to the substrate holder, and configured to leak a magnetic field to a front surface of the target held by the target holder that is a surface close to the substrate holder;
- a motor configured to move the magnet with respect to the target holder;
- a torque sensor configured to detect a torque value of the motor;
- and
- a controller configured to control an overall operation of the film forming apparatus,
- wherein the controller determines a timing for replacing the target based on the torque value detected by the torque sensor.
A method of determining a timing for replacing a target in a film forming apparatus, wherein
- the target is made of a ferromagnetic material,
- the film forming apparatus includes
- a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate for forming a film thereon by a magnetron sputtering,
- a target holder configured to hold the target to face the substrate holder and extend in a depth direction of the film forming apparatus,
- a magnet provided on a surface of the target holder opposite to the substrate holder, and configured to leak a magnetic field to a front surface of the target held by the target holder that is a surface close to the substrate holder,
- a driver configured to swing the magnet along a back surface of the target holder in the depth direction of the film forming apparatus, and
- a Gauss meter including a hole probe with a hole sensor provided therein and configured to measure a strength of the magnetic field, and
- the method comprising:
- measuring the strength of the magnetic field;
- and
- determining a timing for replacing the target based on the measured strength of the magnetic field,
- wherein a tip of the hole probe is provided at a position substantially coincident with a center of the target held by the target holder in the depth direction of the film forming apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.