Sputtering method and sputtering apparatus

A sputtering method for forming a gate insulation film having 1 nm or smaller thickness of MOSFET comprising the steps of:

• placing a target material of at least one metal selected from the metal group consisting of hafnium, zirconium, lanthanum, titanium, and tantalum;
• an alloy thereof;
• or an oxide, a nitride, or an oxide thereof, on a sputtering cathode installed in a sputtering apparatus chamber;
• placing a substrate on a substrate holder rotatably installed in the sputtering apparatus chamber;
• sputtering a target material on the surface of the substrate with the surface of the placed substrate and the surface of the placed target material being non-parallel with each other, so that the target material comes flying at a slant on the surface of the substrate to form a film;
• and
• treating the formed film on the surface of the substrate to form the gate insulation film, the diameter D of the target material being smaller than the diameter d of the substrate, wherein
• during the film-forming step by sputtering, the substrate holder mounting the substrate thereon is rotated at 100 rpm or larger rotational speed, and a condition of 0.8≦T/W≦1.3 is set, where T is the distance between the center of the sputtering cathode and a plane including the surface of the substrate-placing table, and W is the distance on a line, passing through the center of the sputtering cathode and being in parallel to the surface of the substrate-holding table, between the center of the sputtering cathode and the point of intersection of the line with a normal b passing through the center of the substrate-placing table.

A sputtering method for forming a tunnel insulation film having 1 nm or smaller thickness of magnetoresistive element comprising the steps of:

• placing a target material of at least one metal selected from the metal group consisting of aluminum, magnesium, alumina and magnesium oxide, on a sputtering cathode installed in a sputtering apparatus chamber;
• placing a substrate on a substrate holder rotatably installed in the sputtering apparatus chamber;
• sputtering a target material on the surface of the substrate with the surface of the placed substrate and the surface of the placed target material being non-parallel with each other, so that the target material comes flying at a slant on the surface of the substrate to form a film;
• and
• treating the formed film on the surface of the substrate to form the tunnel insulation film, the diameter D of the target material being smaller than the diameter d of the substrate, wherein
• during the film-forming step by sputtering, the substrate holder mounting the substrate thereon is rotated at 100 rpm or larger rotational speed, and a condition of 0.8≦T/W≦1.3 is set, where T is the distance between the center of the sputtering cathode and a plane including the surface of the substrate-placing table, and W is the distance on a line, passing through the center of the sputtering cathode and being in parallel to the surface of the substrate-holding table, between the center of the sputtering cathode and the point of intersection of the line with a normal b passing through the center of the substrate-placing table.