Liquid sputter target
AssigneeEvatec AG
InventorsDominik Jaeger, Thomas Tschirky, Marco Rechsteiner, Heinz Felzer, Hartmut Rohrmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sputtering device to sputter a liquid target. The sputtering device including a trough to receive a liquid target material and a device to stir or agitate the liquid target material. The device configured to degas the liquid target material or/and to dissipate solid particles or islands on a surface of the target or/and to move such particles or islands from an active surface region to a passive surface region and/or vice-versa, whereby the passive surface region is at least 50% less exposed to sputtering as the active surface region.
Claims29
Sputtering device to sputter a liquid target, comprising a trough to receive a liquid target material, wherein the device comprises means being configured to effect at least one of stirring and agitating the liquid target material, degassing the liquid target material, dissipating solid particles or islands on a surface of the target, and moving such particles or islands from an active surface region (SA) to a passive surface region (SP) or vice-versa, the passive surface region (SP) being at least 50% less exposed to sputtering as the active surface region (SA) wherein the means comprise a planar magnetron system with at least an outer and an inner magnet having reversed polarities and being mounted below a liquid level of the liquid target material in respective recesses in a reverse side of a bottom of the trough, which is not in contact with the liquid target, at the reverse side of the bottom of the trough, or at or in a surface of the bottom of the trough being in contact with the liquid target, the planar magnetron system being designed to enable a horizontal and a vertical convection of the liquid target material during sputtering, wherein the means to agitate the liquid target comprise an agitation unit having an inner and an outer agitation-electrode, and a magnet system comprising the outer and inner magnets, whereby at least the inner agitation-electrode is at least in part below the liquid level of the liquid target material, and at least the inner agitation electrode being connected to a DC-current source, a pulsed DC-current source or a low frequency AC-current source.
A method for depositing a film on a substrate, whereby at least one first component is sputtered by a sputtering device to sputter a liquid target comprising a liquid metallic target material placed in a target trough and sputtered from the target to the surface of a substrate to be coated, and the liquid metallic target material comprises at least an active surface region (SA) exposed to sputter ions and a passive surface region (SP) at least 50% less exposed to sputtering as the active surface region (SA), wherein the method comprises agitation of the liquid metallic target material to degas the liquid metallic target material or/and to dissipate solid particles or islands or/and move solid particles or islands from the active surface region (SA) to the passive surface region (SP) and/or vice-versa, wherein agitation enforces horizontal and vertical convection in the liquid metallic target material during sputtering, wherein the sputtering device comprises a planar magnetron system with at least an outer and an inner magnet having reversed polarities and being mounted below a liquid level of the liquid metallic target material in respective recesses in a reverse side of a bottom of the target trough, which is not in contact with the liquid target, at the reverse side of the bottom of the trough, or at or in the bottom of the target trough being in contact with the liquid target, wherein the sputtering device comprises an agitation unit an agitation unit having an inner and an outer agitation-electrode, and a magnet system comprising the outer and inner magnets, whereby at least the inner agitation-electrode is at least in part below the liquid level of the liquid target material, and at least the inner agitation electrode being connected to a DC-current source, a pulsed DC-current source or a low frequency AC-current source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.