HIGH-RATE REACTIVE SPUTTERING OF DIELECTRIC STOICHIOMETRIC FILMS

• Main Authors: REZEK, JIRI, BUGYI, RAFAL, LAZAR, JAN, VLCEK, JAROSLAV
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 18.11.2015
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS; ELECTRICITY; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; METALLURGY; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION

A method and apparatus for monitoring and controlling reactive sputter deposition are provided. They are particularly useful for high-rate deposition of dielectric stoichiometric compounds (e.g., metal-oxides, metal-nitrides, metal-oxynitrides, etc.) on various substrates using high power magnetron sputtering a metal target, including high power impulse magnetron sputtering with target power densities of up to several kWcm -2 in short target (cathode) voltage pulses (typically 40 µs to 200 µs). For a given nominal target power level, target material and source gases, a pulsed flow rate of the reactive gas into a vacuum chamber is controlled at a constant target voltage, kept by a power supply, to promote sputter deposition of the dielectric stoichiometric films in a transition region between a "metallic mode" and a "covered (poisoned) mode".