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US 7,744,730 B2Granted
Rotating pallet in sputtering system
AssigneeTango Systems, Inc.
InventorsRavi Mullapudi, Edward Strepka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A processing system is described for depositing materials on multiple workpieces (wafers, display panels, or any other workpieces) at a time in a vacuum chamber. Multiple targets, of the same or different materials, may concurrently deposit material on the wafers as the pallet is rotating. Multiple magnets (one for each target) in the magnetron assembly in the sputtering chamber oscillate back and forth across an arc over their respective targets for uniform target erosion and uniform deposition on the wafers.
Claims22
A processing system comprising:
- a sputtering system comprising:
- a low pressure chamber;
- a rotatable first pallet in the chamber, the rotatable first pallet having a plurality of workpiece support areas for concurrently supporting a plurality of workpieces on the first pallet;
- a plurality of targets having sputtering surfaces facing the first pallet, the targets being located in a first plane, each of the targets having a substantially triangular shape;
- a first port for receiving workpieces one at a time for loading one at a time onto the workpiece support areas;
- a first motor for rotating the first pallet such that workpieces oppose different target sputtering surfaces at different times during sputtering operations;
- a plurality of magnets, each magnet opposing a back side of an associated target, the magnets being located in a second plane, each of the magnets having a substantially triangular shape;
- and
- an actuator connected to the magnets for identically scanning the magnets back and forth in a curved path in only the second plane over their associated targets during a sputtering operation, the curved path being less than 90 degrees, such that after a plurality of scans of the magnets each magnet scans a substantially triangular area corresponding to a shape of its associated target.
6 more elements
A method for sputtering onto a workpiece comprising:
- placing a plurality of workpieces, one at a time, on a rotatable first pallet in a sputtering chamber, the rotatable first pallet having a plurality of workpiece support areas;
- creating a plasma in the sputtering chamber to sputter material from a plurality of targets to the workpieces, each of the targets having a substantially triangular shape;
- rotating the first pallet such that workpieces oppose different targets at different times during sputtering operations, the targets being located in a first plane;
- rotating the first pallet between sputtering operations to align each workpiece support area with at least one port of the sputtering chamber for adding and removing workpieces to and from the first pallet;
- and
- scanning a plurality of magnets, the magnets being located in a second plane, each magnet opposing a back side of an associated target and having a substantially triangular shape, back and forth in a curved path only in the second plane over the associated target during a sputtering operation, the curved path being less than 90 degrees, such that after a plurality of scans of the magnets each magnet scans a substantially triangular area corresponding to a shape of its associated target.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.