Back to results
US 2003/0150721 A1Published application
Inverted magnetron
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorMark A. Perrin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A source of sputtered deposition material has, in one embodiment, a torus-shaped plasma generation area in which a plasma operates to sputter the interior surface of a toroidal cathode. In one embodiment, the sputtered deposition material passes to the exterior of the source through apertures provided in the cathode itself. A torus-shaped magnetic field generated in the torus-shaped plasma facilitates plasma generation, sputtering of the cathode and ionization of the sputtered material by the plasma.
Claims47
A source of deposition material, comprising:
- a cathode having a torus-shaped interior sputtering surface which defines a torus-shaped interior of said cathode;
- and
- an anode positioned in the interior of said cathode and spaced from the cathode sputtering surface.
A source of deposition material, comprising:
- a cathode having an interior sputtering surface which is shaped as one of a partial and complete torus and which defines a center axis;
- and
- a ring shaped anode positioned spaced from but facing said cathode sputtering surface and forming a closed loop around said cathode center axis.
A source of deposition material, comprising:
- a vessel having a toroidal-shaped plasma generation region adapted to contain a plasma for ionizing deposition material;
- said vessel including a cathode having an exterior surface facing away from said plasma generation region, and an interior sputtering surface formed of a deposition material and facing at least a portion of said plasma generation region, said cathode having a plurality of passageways positioned between said exterior surface and said sputtering surface and oriented to permit ionized sputtered deposition material discharged from said plasma generation region, to pass through the cathode and to the exterior of said of said cathode;
- and an anode positioned within said vessel adjacent to said plasma generation region and facing said cathode interior sputtering surface.
A source of deposition material, comprising:
- a vessel having a plasma generation region adapted to contain a plasma for ionizing deposition material;
- said vessel including a cathode having an exterior surface facing away from said plasma generation region, and an interior sputtering surface formed of a deposition material and facing at least a portion of said plasma generation region, said cathode having a plurality of passageways positioned between said exterior surface and said sputtering surface and oriented to permit ionized sputtered deposition material discharged from said plasma generation region, to pass through the cathode and to the exterior of said of said cathode;
- and an anode positioned within said vessel adjacent to said plasma generation region and facing said cathode interior sputtering surface.
A chamber for depositing ionized sputtered deposition material onto a semiconductor substrate, comprising:
- a vessel adapted to contain a subatmospheric pressure;
- an electromagnetic coil adapted to provide a torus-shaped magnetic field inside said vessel to define a plasma generation area to ionize deposition material;
- a cathode having an interior sputtering surface facing and encircling said magnetic field having an exterior surface facing toward said substrate, said cathode having a plurality of passageways defined by said exterior surface and oriented to permit ionized sputtered deposition material discharged from said plasma generation region, to pass through the cathode and to the exterior of said cathode;
- and
- an anode positioned within said vessel adjacent to said field and facing said cathode interior sputtering surface.
2 more elements
A method of sputtering material onto a semiconductor workpiece, comprising:
- pumping down the interior pressure of a vessel having a semiconductor workpiece;
- and
- applying a potential difference between a cathode having a torus-shaped interior sputtering surface which defines a torus-shaped interior of said cathode and an anode positioned in the interior of said cathode and spaced from the cathode sputtering surface, to generate a plasma within said cathode interior and to cause said sputtering surface to sputter deposition material.
A method of sputtering deposition material, comprising:
- generating a plasma between a cathode and an anode to sputter an interior surface of said cathode facing said plasma and to ionize deposition material sputtered from said cathode;
- and
- directing ionized deposition material through a plurality of apertures in said cathode to the exterior of said cathode and onto a substrate.
A source of deposition material for a substrate, comprising:
- a substrate holder;
- means for generating a torus-shaped plasma including a torus-shaped cathode having an interior sputtering surface which defines a center axis, and a ring shaped anode positioned spaced from but facing said cathode sputtering surface and forming a closed loop around said cathode center axis, said cathode having a plurality of apertures distributed around said cathode in a ring facing said holder;
- means for generating a torus-shaped magnetic field in said plasma wherein said plasma sputters deposition material from said sputtering surface and ionizes sputtered deposition material;
- and
- means for directing ionized deposition material through said plurality of apertures in said cathode to the exterior of said cathode and onto a substrate.
2 more elements
A source of deposition material, comprising:
- a toroidal-shaped vessel having an interior which defines a toroidal-shaped plasma generation region adapted to contain a plasma for ionizing deposition material;
- said vessel including a toroidal-shaped cathode having an exterior surface facing away from said plasma generation region, and a toroidal-shaped interior sputtering surface formed of a deposition material and facing at least a portion of said plasma generation region, said cathode having a plurality of passageways positioned in a ring-shaped pattern between said exterior surface and said sputtering surface and oriented to permit ionized sputtered deposition material discharged from said plasma generation region, to pass through the cathode and to the exterior of said of said cathode;
- a ring-shaped anode positioned within said vessel within said plasma generation region and facing said cathode interior sputtering surface;
- and a toroidal-shaped electromagnetic coil disposed around said cathode to provide a toroidal-shaped magnetic field in said plasma generation area.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.