JP2002309369A - Sputtering apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the exchange of a target to reduce the working time by using a gel like material as a bonding material for sticking the target to a water cooled plate in a sputtering apparatus. SOLUTION: The working time is reduced by sticking the target 21 to the water cooled plate using the gel like material as the bonding material 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus, and is characterized by a bonding material for bonding a target to a water-cooled plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a sputtering apparatus has been widely used in a process of forming a thin film of a liquid crystal, an optical disk, an electronic component device and the like mainly in a semiconductor field. Since the target, which is a material necessary for forming the thin film, is often a very expensive material, it is required to use the target effectively and effectively.

[0003] Generally, erosion of the target progresses, affecting not only the sputter on the substrate but also other members such as a water-cooled plate and a bonding material for bonding the target and the water-cooled plate.

[0004] For example, as spattering proceeds on another member such as a water-cooled plate or a bonding material, the surface area of the other member increases, and accordingly, cooling heat is released, and heat conduction to the target necessarily decreases. Problem occurs, and it is difficult to sufficiently control the temperature of the target.

Therefore, in the prior art, a method of bonding a target using a copper material having a high thermal conductivity as a water-cooled plate and using a metal bonding material which becomes solid after bonding is generally used. For this reason, once the target is bonded to the water-cooled plate, it is often in a state where it cannot be peeled off from the water-cooled plate.

[0006]

However, in the above-described method, since the target is fixed to the water-cooled plate, it is necessary to remove a part serving as a base of the water-cooled plate, and a new target is reinstalled in the present apparatus. In such a case, the positioning adjustment of the base component is performed, so that the time required for replacing the target is excessively long, and there is a problem that the development process is stopped for a certain period.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. The bonding material for bonding the target and the water-cooled plate is made of a gel material, and the target and the water-cooled plate are made detachable so that the target can be detached. An object of the present invention is to provide a sputtering apparatus capable of shortening an exchange time.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to mount a vacuum chamber capable of maintaining a vacuum and a substrate in the vacuum chamber to be processed by plasma. A substrate holding table, a cathode including a target and a water-cooled plate disposed opposite to the substrate, a high-frequency power supply for applying high-frequency power to the cathode, and exhaust while supplying gas into the vacuum chamber. In a sputtering apparatus including a gas supply / exhaust unit, a gel material is used as a bonding material for bonding the target and the water-cooled plate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sputtering apparatus of the first aspect, indium gallium is used as a bonding material.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sputtering apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a sputtering apparatus having a target according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum chamber, 2 denotes a cathode composed of a target 21 and a water-cooled plate 22, which will be described later, and 3 denotes a cathode facing the cathode 2. The substrate 4 is installed on the cathode 2 side of the substrate holding table 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a high-frequency power supply for applying high-frequency power to the cathode 2 to generate plasma on the surface of the cathode 2; 6, an evacuation pump for bringing the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 into a reduced-pressure atmosphere; A gas supply valve 8 for supplying pressure, and a pressure regulating valve 8 for regulating the vacuum pressure in the vacuum chamber 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cathode 2 according to the present invention. Reference numeral 21 denotes a target which is a film-forming material, reference numeral 22 denotes a water-cooled plate such as a copper material for cooling the target 21, and reference numeral 23 denotes a gel for bonding the target 21 and the water-cooled plate 22. Bonding material.

A method for forming a film on the surface of the substrate 4 using the sputtering apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

At first, the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is
Evacuation is performed to a degree of vacuum of about 0 ^-3 Pa, the pressure is adjusted to about 0.67 Pa by controlling the gas supply valve 7 and the pressure regulating valve 8, and argon gas is sealed.

In this state, when a high voltage of several kV is applied between the electrodes by the high-frequency power supply 5, the argon is in a plasma state and is positively ionized. The argon positive ions in the plasma are accelerated by the cathode potential drop near the cathode 2, collide with the surface of the cathode 2, and sputter vaporize the surface of the target 21. The sputtered particles are deposited on the substrate 4 disposed on the anode, and a thin film composed of the target 21 is formed.

At this time, the target 21 in FIG. 2 is gradually eroded as the number of sputtering increases, and the atoms in the target 21 reach the bonding material 23 and the water-cooled plate 22. Is reduced. Therefore, depending on the degree of erosion of the target 21, the target 2
1 needs to be replaced.

Therefore, the target 21 is made of a gel-like material having a high thermal conductivity at room temperature, for example, InGa (indium gallium / In 24.5 wt%, Ga 75.5 wt%).
Is bonded to the water cooling plate 22 as a bonding material 23. InGa having the above-described composition is in a gel state at room temperature, but has a high viscosity and is thus adhered to the water-cooled plate 22 to such an extent that displacement does not occur due to vibration or gravity.

If it becomes necessary to replace the target 21, the target 21 alone can be removed from the bonding material 23 while the water-cooled plate 22 is fixed to the sputtering device, and replaced with a new target 21.

As described above, by using a gel material at room temperature as the bonding material, only the target can be replaced, and the time required for replacing the target can be reduced. Specifically, the target can be easily exchanged without the intervention of a specialized trader, so that the work that previously required about two hours can be completed in about three minutes.

[0019]

According to the present invention, when a target is eroded by using a gel material at room temperature as a bonding material, and the target needs to be replaced, only the target is replaced from the water-cooled plate. As a result, the work time required for replacement can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of a sputtering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a target according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum tank 2 Cathode 3 Substrate holder 4 Substrate 5 High frequency power supply 6 Vacuum exhaust pump 7 Gas supply valve 8 Pressure regulating valve

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 4K029 DC24 DC25 DC35

Claims (2)

[Claims] A vacuum chamber capable of maintaining a vacuum;
A substrate holding table in which the substrate to be processed by plasma is placed in the vacuum chamber, a cathode including a target and a water-cooled plate installed opposite to the substrate, and high-frequency power is applied to the cathode. A sputtering device comprising a high-frequency power supply to be applied and a gas supply / exhaust means for exhausting gas while supplying gas into the vacuum chamber, wherein a gel material is used as a bonding material for bonding the target and the water-cooled plate. Sputtering equipment. 2. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein indium gallium is used as a bonding material.