US 6,423,192 B1Granted

Sputtering apparatus and film forming method

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

InventorsJunichi Wada, Hideto Matsuyama, Tomio Katata, Atsuko Sakata, Koichi Watanabe

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A sputtering apparatus includes a process chamber for accommodating a semiconductor wafer. A susceptor is disposed on the bottom of the interior of the process chamber, and a sputter target is disposed at the top of the process chamber. A cylindrical ion reflecting plate is disposed along the inner wall of the process chamber. A lower grounded component, which forms a path along which electrons are released, is disposed below the ion reflecting plate so as to surround the susceptor. A magnet is disposed behind the target outside the process chamber. Negative potentials are applied to the target and semiconductor wafer, and a positive potential is applied to the ion reflecting plate. The magnet forms a closed magnetic field for trapping electrons in a plasma on the surface of the target, and a divergent magnetic field for directing the electrons in the plasma to the lower grounded component.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A sputtering apparatus comprising:

a vacuum process chamber configured to accommodate a substrate to be processed;
a support member configured to support the substrate in said process chamber;
a gas supply system configured to supply a process gas into said process chamber;
an exciting system configured to excite the process gas to generate a plasma by causing discharge in said process chamber;
a sputter target disposed in said process chamber so as to oppose the substrate and to be collided by ions in the plasma to emit a film forming material;
a first negative biasing section configured to apply a first negative potential to said target;
a second negative biasing section configured to apply a second negative potential to the substrate;
an ion reflecting plate disposed in said process chamber so as to surround a space between the substrate and said target;
a positive biasing section configured to apply a positive potential to said ion reflecting plate;
a conductive component disposed in said process chamber to form a path along which electrons are released from the plasma;
and
a magnetic field forming system configured to form in said process chamber a closed magnetic field for trapping electrons in the plasma on a surface of said target and a divergent magnetic field for directing the electrons in the plasma to said conductive component.

9 more elements

A sputtering apparatus comprising:

a vacuum process chamber configured to accommodate a substrate to be processed;
a support member configured to support the substrate in said process chamber;
a gas supply system configured to supply a process gas into said process chamber;
an exciting system configured to excite the process gas to generate a plasma by causing discharge in said process chamber;
a sputter target disposed in said process chamber so as to oppose the substrate and to be collided by ions in the plasma to emit a film forming material;
a first negative biasing section configured to apply a first negative potential to said target;
a second negative biasing section configured to apply a second negative potential to the substrate;
an ion reflecting plate disposed in said process chamber so as to surround a space between the substrate and said target;
a positive biasing section configured to apply a positive potential to said ion reflecting plate;
a conductive component disposed in said process chamber to form a path along which electrons are released from the plasma;
and
a control mechanism configured to set an electric resistance between said target and said ion reflecting plate to be higher than that between said target and said conductive component when the plasma is formed and said ion reflecting plate and said conductive component are grounded.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.