US 2002/0153103 A1Published application

Plasma treatment apparatus

AssigneeApplied Process Technologies, Inc.

InventorJohn E. Madocks

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Abstract

Magnetically enhanced glow discharge devices are disclosed for the purpose of PECVD, etching or treating a substrate in a vacuum chamber. Two cathode surfaces are separated by a gap. A mirror magnetic field emanates from the cathode surfaces and passes through the gap. An anode structure forms diverging electric fields from each cathode to the anode, where the electric fields pass through the magnetic field 360 degrees around the dipole magnetic field. A closed loop electron trap is formed by the diverging electric fields and the expanding magnetic field in the gap. With a chamber pressure in the range of 0.1 to 100 mTorr and an applied voltage between the cathode and anode surfaces, a plasma is formed in the electron trap and in the plane of the trap. By shaping the plasma poles and exposing the sides of the cathode surfaces to the substrate, the created Hall current of the plasma can be brought into direct contact with the substrate.

Claims33

Dependent claims

A plasma treatment apparatus comprising:

at least first and second cathodes separated by a gap, said first cathode comprising a first exposed cathode surface, said second cathode comprising a second exposed cathode surface, and said first exposed cathode surface oriented non-parallel to said second exposed cathode surface;
a set of magnets operative to generate a magnetic field exiting from one of the cathodes and entering the other of the cathodes, thereby crossing the gap;
said magnetic field comprising a first magnetic field portion crossing the gap and passing through said first exposed cathode surface, said first magnetic field portion comprising magnetic field lines having a maximum field strength of at least 100 Gauss;
at least one anode structure positioned to create an electric field extending from the cathodes to the anode structure, at least a portion of said electric field crossing said magnetic field and forming a closed-loop electron containment region within said magnetic field, a sufficient voltage between the anode structure and the cathodes operative to form a plasma within the magnetic field when a gas is present near the containment region at a gas pressure between 0.1 and 100 mTorr;
and
at least one substrate positioned to be treated by said plasma.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/036,067Filed 19 Oct 2001
Priority: 20 Apr 2001
Published: 24 Oct 2002
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H01J 37/32623
Constructional details of the reactor: mechanical discharge control means
C23C 14/352
By application of a magnetic field, e.g. magnetron sputtering: using more than one target
C23C 16/503
Using electric discharges: using DC or AC discharges
H01J 37/3266
Constructional details of the reactor: magnetic control means