Patent EP0439361A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0439361A2
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Sputtering apparatus with a rotating magnet array having a geometry for specified target erosion profile
Assignee: Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc
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Filing: 1991-01-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-01-24
Abstract
Abstract A magnetron sputtering apparatus includes a rotatable magnet which is either concave or convex. For one magnet structure, at least a portion of the centerline of the magnet lies along a curve defined by where ξ(r) is a preselected erosion profile. When stationary, the magnet generates a localized magnetic field of approximately constant width. In operation, when the magnet is rotated, it generates the preselected erosion profile in the target. The preselected erosion profile may be constant.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert L Anderson
- 👤 John C Helmer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 03:17
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/34; H01J37/3402; H01J37/3405; H01J37/3408; C; C23; C23C; C23C14/00; C23C14/22; C23C14/34; C23C14/35; H01J37/3411; H01J37/345; H01J37/3455
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
111 words
A magnetron sputter apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber; means for holding a target having a dished front surface in said vacuum chamber, said front surface being a surface of revolution; and rotatable magnetic means for generating a magnetic field over said front surface of said target, said magnetic means being configured so that at least a first portion of the normalized centerline of said magnetic means is describable by an equation of the form where ξ(r) is a preselected normalized erosion profile to be generated in said target during rotation of said magnetic means, z(r) defines said surface of revolution, C is a selected constant, and ϑ has a selected range.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
33 words
A sputtering apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said preselected erosion profile ξ(r) is constant and said first portion is describable by an equation of the form, where C is a selected constant.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
A sputtering apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said centerline forms a closed curve and each portion of said curve is described by an equation of said form for a selected choice of C and a selected range of ϑ.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
A sputtering apparatus as in Claim 1 wherein a second portion of said centerline is symmetrical with respect to said first portion.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
A sputtering apparatus as in Claim 1 including a first and a second pole pieces each uniformly spaced from said first portion over most of said portion in order to distribute the magnetic field generated by said magnetic means uniformly along said first portion.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
A sputtering apparatus as in Claim 5 wherein said retaining means are flexible.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
A magnetron apparatus comprising a vacuum chamber, a cathode in said vacuum chamber having a dished front surface and a back surface; and a rotatable magnetic means for generating a magnetic filed over said front surface, said magnetic means being positioned behind said back surface.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
A magnetron apparatus as claimed in Claim 7 wherein said rotatable magnetic means includes a portion conformal with said dished front surface.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
A magnetron apparatus as in Claim 7 wherein said cathode includes a dished portion forming a part of a wall of said vacuum chamber.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 wherein said dished surface and/or portions is/are concave.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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