Sputtering apparatus and method for controlling the same
AssigneeCanon Anelva Corporation
InventorKoji Tsunekawa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a multi-target sputtering apparatus including an increased number of targets which can be sputtered simultaneously, and a method for controlling the sputtering apparatus. In one embodiment of the present invention, first and second shutter plates are provided between a substrate and target electrodes and paths between intended targets and the substrate are shut off by the shutter plates to perform a pre-sputtering step. In addition, the first and second shutter plates are rotated as appropriate at the time of transition to a full-scale sputtering step, so as to overlap through-holes provided in the shutter plates, thereby opening up paths between the intended targets and the substrate. Then, a full-scale sputtering step is performed.
Claims13
A sputtering apparatus comprising, within the vacuum chamber thereof, a plurality of target electrodes capable of holding targets and a shut-off device capable of shutting off paths between said target electrodes and a substrate being processed, wherein said plurality of target electrodes are arranged on the same circumference centered on a line perpendicular to and passing through the center of the to-be-treated surface of said substrate being processed,
- said shut-off device including:
- first and second shutter plates that overlap with each other and rotate around the center of the same circumference on which said plurality of target electrodes are arranged;
- first and second drive means for rotating said first and second shutter plates independently of each other;
- and
- a drive control means for controlling said first and second drive means;
- wherein each of said first and second shutter plates has at least one opening for uncovering at least one target electrode to said substrate being processed and has a shape adapted to shut off a path between at least one target electrode and said substrate being processed,
- said drive control means can control said first and second drive means so as to rotate said first and second shutter plates independently of each other and, by the positional combination of the openings of said first and second shutter plates, can uncover an arbitrary number of target electrodes, among numbers allowed by said combination, to said substrate being processed, and
- at the time of sputter processing in which sputtering is performed by opening up paths between targets to be sputtered and said substrate, said drive control means controls said first and second drive means to rotate said first and second shutter plates independently of each other according to the number of targets to be sputtered and the arrangement thereof, so as to uncover said targets to be sputtered to said substrate being processed through regions in which openings of said first and second shutter plates overlap with each other, so that all of said targets to be sputtered are uncovered to said substrate being processed.
A method for controlling a sputtering apparatus comprising, within the vacuum chamber thereof, a plurality of target electrodes capable of holding targets and a shut-off device capable of shutting off paths between said target electrodes and a substrate being processed, said plurality of target electrodes being arranged on the same circumference centered on a line perpendicular to and passing through the center of the to-be-treated surface of said substrate being processed, said shut-off device including first and second shutter plates that overlap with each other and rotate around the center of the same circumference on which said plurality of target electrodes are arranged and first and second drive means for rotating said first and second shutter plates independently of each other, each of said first and second shutter plates having a plurality of openings for uncovering at least one target electrode to said substrate being processed and having a shape adapted to shut off a path between at least one target electrode and said substrate being processed, wherein
- said control method can control said first and second drive means so as to rotate said first and second shutter plates independently of each other and, by the positional combination of the openings of said first and second shutter plates, can uncover an arbitrary number of target electrodes, among numbers allowed by said combination, to said substrate being processed, and
- at the time of sputter processing in which sputtering is performed by opening up paths between targets to be sputtered and said substrate, said control method controls said first and second drive means to rotate said first and second shutter plates independently of each other according to the number of targets to be sputtered and the arrangement thereof, so as to uncover said targets to be sputtered to said substrate being processed through regions in which openings of said first and second shutter plates overlap with each other, so that all of said targets to be sputtered are uncovered to said substrate being processed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.