Sputtering apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9368331-B2
Application number	US-201514751595-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 26, 2015
Priority date	Feb 28, 2013
Publication date	Jun 14, 2016
Grant date	Jun 14, 2016

Abstract

The present invention provides a highly efficient magnetron sputtering apparatus in which a ground shield made of a magnetic material is disposed on the outer circumference of a target, the sputtering apparatus being capable of reducing unintended discharge between a cathode and the ground shield. The sputtering apparatus according to an embodiment includes: a backing plate connected to a power supply and having a target mounting surface; a magnet disposed on the back surface of the backing plate; a grounded shield containing a magnetic material and surrounding the target mounting surface; and a fixation part located between the shield and the backing plate at an outer circumference of the target mounting surface and serving as a magnetic member. This structure reduces magnetic field lines which pass through a space between the shield and the fixation part.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sputtering apparatus comprising:
a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substrate;
a backing plate having a target mounting surface where to hold a target;
a power supply connected to the backing plate;
a magnet disposed on a side of the backing plate opposite to the target mounting surface of the backing plate;
a shield containing a magnetic material, being grounded, and surrounding the target mounting surface; and
a magnetic member located between the shield and the backing plate at an outer circumference of the target mounting surface, and provided at a position not facing the magnet in a direction perpendicular to the target mounting surface.

2. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnetic member is configured to be able to fix the target to the backing plate,
the shield includes a facing portion and an outside portion located outside the facing portion, the facing portion facing the backing plate without the magnetic member interposed in between,
a gap between the facing portion and the backing plate is smaller than a gap between the outside portion and the backing plate, and
an inner face of the shield on a side facing the substrate holding unit includes a first inclined portion in which a distance between the inner face and the backing plate gradually decreases from the outside portion toward the facing portion.

3. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein a face of the magnetic member on a side facing the substrate holding unit includes a second inclined portion in which a distance between the face and the backing plate gradually decreases from an outer circumferential portion toward a central portion of the magnetic member, and
an opposite face of the shield on an opposite side to the inner face of the shield includes a third inclined portion in which a distance between the opposite face and the backing plate gradually decreases from the outside portion toward the facing portion.

4. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the power supply is a high frequency power supply.

5. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnet is provided on a yoke, and
the magnet includes an annular outside magnet and an inside magnet, the annular outside magnet being magnetized in a direction perpendicular to the target mounting surface, the inside magnet being magnetized in a direction opposite to the magnetized direction of the outside magnet.

Assignees

• Canon Anelva Corp

Inventors

• Shinada Masato
• Ueda Keisuke

Classifications

• H01J37/3461

  Means for shaping the magnetic field, e.g. magnetic shunts · CPC title

• H01J37/3417

  Arrangements · CPC title

• H01J37/32651

  Shields, e.g. dark space shields, Faraday shields · CPC title

• H01J37/3405

  Magnetron sputtering · CPC title

• C23C14/35 Primary

  by application of a magnetic field, e.g. magnetron sputtering {(C23C14/3457 takes precedence)} · CPC title