Device and method for producing layers with improved uniformity in coating systems with horizontally rotating substrate and additional plasma sources

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12258661-B2
Application number	US-202117760310-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2021
Priority date	Feb 13, 2020
Publication date	Mar 25, 2025
Grant date	Mar 25, 2025

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for producing layers whose layer thickness distribution can be adjusted in coating systems with horizontally rotating substrate. A very homogeneous or a specific non-homogeneous distribution can be adjusted. The particle loading is also significantly reduced. The service life is significantly higher compared to other methods. Forming of parasitic coatings is reduced.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for depositing uniform layers on rotationally moved substrates by means of magnetron sputtering comprising
(a) a vacuum chamber with a sputtering compartment,
(b) at least one inlet for a sputtering gas;
(c) a turntable with at least one substrate holder; and
(d) at least one magnetron sputtering source arranged in the sputtering compartment with at least one electrode, and
at least one further microwave plasma source being arranged in the sputtering compartment; and
wherein the at least one microwave plasma source for local plasma compression is arranged asymmetrically to one of the axes of the at least one electrode, and wherein the at least one microwave plasma source is placed at an end of the at least one magnetron sputtering source.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one microwave plasma source has a magnetic field configuration for generating a spatially localized plasma.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device has at least one generator for supplying power to the at least one microwave plasma source.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one microwave plasma source comprises a protective coating.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein an inhomogeneous removal rate increases from the turntable center to the turntable margin.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device has at least one additional plasma source for pretreating the substrate surface and/or for modifying the structure and/or the stoichiometry of the layers.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one magnetron sputtering source consists of magnetron electrodes of a cylindrical or planar source material and of a holder for this material and a target belonging thereto.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the distance from the substrate to the at least one electrode for each electrode amounts to, independently from one another, from 5 to 40 cm.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device has a DC current supply pulsed in the mid frequency range or a pulsed DC current supply.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a photometer for determining the thickness of the layer on the substrate and/or ellipsometry flanges and/or a component which exerts a polarization effect.

11. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device has an optical measuring device for determining thickness distribution of the layers.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device has a regulation system for regulating and/or stabilizing the partial pressure in the magnetron sputtering device.

13. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device has at least one correction aperture.

14. A method of depositing uniform layers on rotationally moved substrates by magnetron sputtering, in which
(a) at least one substrate is arranged on a turntable in a vacuum chamber to enable a coating on a rotational movement of the substrate and
(b) at least one layer is deposited on the at least one substrate with at least one magnetron sputtering source arranged in the sputtering compartment and with at least one electrode, with the layers of source material of the electrodes being formed by sputter gas,
wherein a homogeneous or inhomogeneous plasma density is generated in the sputtering compartment utilizing at least one further microwave plasma source, which causes a homogeneous or inhomogeneous removal rate of the source material on the substrate; and
wherein the at least one microwave plasma source for local plasma compression is arranged asymmetrically to one of the axes of the at least one electrode, and wherein the at least one microwave plasma source is placed at an end of the at least one magnetron sputtering source.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the at least one further microwave plasma source is utilized for the magnetron sputtering source, whereby the magnetron sputtering process can be operated in the pressure range below 5×10 −3 mbar.

16. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the inhomogeneous removal rate increases from the turntable center to the turntable margin.

17. The method according to claim 14 , wherein at least one additional plasma source is utilized in the method.

18. The method according to claim 14 , wherein a noble gas is utilized as the sputtering gas.

19. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the plasma density of the magnetron sputtering source is increased locally by utilizing the at least one further microwave plasma source via its plasma power.

20. The method according to claim 14 , wherein at least one reactive gas is utilized in addition to the sputtering gas.

21. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the thickness of the layers on the substrate is monitored by at least one of the measures (a) to (f) for a process control:
(a) time control;
(b) optical transmission monitoring;
(c) optical reflection monitoring;
(d) optical absorption monitoring;
(e) monowavelength ellipsometry or spectral ellipsometry; and
(f) crystal quartz measurement.

Assignees

• Fraunhofer Ges Forschung

Inventors

• Vergöhl Michael
• Pflug Andreas
• Zickenrott Tobias
• Bruns Stefan

Classifications

• H01J2237/332

  Coating · CPC title

• H01J2237/24585

  Other variables, e.g. energy, mass, velocity, time, temperature · CPC title

• H01J2237/20214

  Rotation · CPC title

• H01J37/3476

  Testing and control · CPC title

• H01J37/3405

  Magnetron sputtering · CPC title