JP5002532B2 - Sputtering method and sputtering apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for forming a film by sputtering in a vacuum, and more particularly, to a sputtering technique that causes little damage to an object to be formed.

Conventionally, various methods such as a counter sputtering method have been proposed for a long time as a so-called damageless sputtering method that causes low damage to a substrate during sputtering.
However, the conventional damageless sputtering method has problems such as a slow film formation rate and unstable discharge.
Japanese Patent No. 2880783

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technique, and an object of the present invention is to provide a low-damage sputtering technique having a high film forming rate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a low-damage sputtering technique capable of stable discharge.

The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, is a sputtering method for forming a film by sputtering on a film formation target in a vacuum using a flat target, and the edge of the target. A first sputtering step in which the target is disposed at a first film formation position facing a film formation surface of the film formation target, and a front portion of the target is the film formation target A second sputtering step in which the target is placed at a second film formation position facing the film formation surface of the object to form a film.
The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein, in the first sputtering step, the target is set as the first film formation position with respect to a planar film formation surface of the film formation target. The target is placed at a vertical position, and then the target is rotated at an angle of 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to the planar film-forming surface of the film-forming object. In the second sputtering step, the target is disposed at a position where the target is parallel to the film formation surface of the film formation target as the second film formation position.
The invention according to claim 3 includes a vacuum chamber, a holding mechanism for holding a film formation target in the vacuum chamber, and a sputtering source having a cathode part for holding a flat target in the vacuum chamber, The sputtering source includes a first film formation position where an edge of the target is opposed to a film formation surface of the film formation target, and a front portion of the target is formed with respect to the film formation surface of the film formation target. The sputtering apparatus is configured to be movable so that the target is positioned at a second film formation position facing each other.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the sputtering source is rotated 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to the planar film-forming surface of the film-forming target. It is configured.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the third or fourth aspects, the holding mechanism is configured to be movable in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is the slit according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein the slit is movable between the sputtering source and the holding mechanism in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles. A mechanism is provided.

In the case of the present invention, film formation is performed by arranging the target at the first film formation position where the edge of the flat target faces the film formation target and performing film formation by the first sputtering step. Low-energy sputtered particles are deposited on the film-forming surface of the object.
Furthermore, the target is placed on the target material layer by depositing the target at a second deposition position where the front portion of the target is opposed to the deposition surface of the deposition target and performing the deposition by the second sputtering step. High energy sputtered particles are deposited on the substrate.

  According to the present invention as described above, in the first sputtering step, the target material layer is formed without damaging the film formation surface of the film formation target. Further, in the second sputtering step, this target is formed. A new target material can be deposited at a high film formation rate without damaging the material layer, whereby a high film formation rate and low damage sputtering film formation can be performed.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since it is a magnetron sputtering by a normal parallel plate in which the film forming direction is changed, sputtering can be performed in a stable discharge state.

  In this case, in the first sputtering step, the target is disposed as a first film formation position at a position where the target is perpendicular to the planar film formation surface of the film formation target, and then the target is formed. In the second sputtering step, the target is set as the second film-forming position by moving the target at the second film-forming position by rotating the object by 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to the planar film-forming surface of the object. If the target is disposed at a position parallel to the planar film formation surface, sputtering film formation with low damage can be performed more efficiently by a simple process.

  In particular, in the apparatus of the present invention, since the sputtering source is configured to be movable so that the target is positioned at the first film forming position and the second film forming position described above, it is efficient with a simple structure. The first and second sputtering steps can be performed well, and a low damage sputtering film can be formed.

  In the present invention, when the sputtering source is configured to rotate by 90 degrees about the rotation axis parallel to the planar film-forming surface of the film-forming object, the structure is simpler. Sputtering film with low damage can be efficiently performed.

  In the present invention, when the holding mechanism is configured to be movable in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles, for example, in the first and second sputtering steps, the film formation target is moved to different positions. Sputtering can be performed at an appropriate incident angle of the sputtered particles, and the film forming target is reciprocated in the direction intersecting the flying direction of the sputtered particles during sputtering, for example. A film having a uniform thickness can be formed thereon.

  In the present invention, when a slit mechanism that can move in the direction intersecting the flying direction of the sputtered particles is provided between the sputtering source and the holding mechanism, for example, in the first and second sputtering steps, By moving the film formation target to different positions, sputtering can be performed at an appropriate incident angle of the sputtered particles, and the film formation target is moved in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles, for example. By reciprocating, a film having a uniform thickness can be formed on the film formation target.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the sputtering technique in which the film-forming speed | velocity is large and low damage and stable discharge can be provided can be provided.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B are cross-sectional views showing the internal configuration of an embodiment of a sputtering apparatus according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sputtering apparatus 1 of this Embodiment has the vacuum chamber 2 connected to the vacuum exhaust system which is not shown in figure. The vacuum chamber 2 is in a grounded state.
A substrate holder (holding mechanism) 3 for holding a flat substrate 20 is disposed, for example, in the upper portion of the vacuum chamber 2.

  Here, the substrate 20 is mounted on the substrate holder 3 facing downward so that the planar film-forming surface 20a is horizontal. The substrate holder 3 holds the substrate 20 and is parallel to the film formation surface 20a of the substrate 20 in the direction intersecting with the flying direction of sputtered particles 40 (40a, 40b) to be described later. Horizontal direction).

An adhesion preventing member 2 a for shielding the sputtered particles 40 is provided near the side wall in the vacuum chamber 2.
On the other hand, a sputtering source 4 described below is disposed, for example, in the lower part of the vacuum chamber 2.
In the sputtering source 4, a cathode unit 5 that holds the target 30 and a drive unit 6 that drives the cathode unit 5 are integrally configured.
The drive unit 6 has a main body 9 formed in, for example, a rectangular box shape, and the cathode 5 is fixed to one surface of the main body 9.

  Here, the cathode unit 5 includes a backing plate 8 having a magnetic circuit generation unit 7 made of, for example, a permanent magnet, and a flat target 30 is attached to the backing plate 8. The cathode unit 5 is connected to a power source 12 so that predetermined power is supplied from the power source 12.

On the other hand, the main body 9 of the drive unit 6 is connected to a rotary drive shaft 11 of a drive motor 10 made of, for example, a stepping motor.
In this case, the drive motor 10 is arranged so that the rotation drive shaft 11 of the drive motor 10 is parallel to the film forming surface 20a of the substrate 20 (horizontal in this example).

  In the present embodiment, the sputtering source 4 includes a first film formation position where the edge 30 a of the target 30 faces the substrate 20, and a first film position where the front portion 30 b of the target 30 faces the substrate 20. The drive unit 6 rotates about the rotation drive shaft 11 so that the target 30 is positioned at the second film formation position.

  In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the first film formation position is a state in which the flat target 30 is arranged in the vertical direction, and the second film formation position is As shown in FIG. 1B, the target 30 is arranged in the horizontal direction with the front portion 30b facing upward.

On the other hand, a flat slit mechanism 21 is provided between the sputtering source 4 and the substrate holder 3.
The slit mechanism 21 has an opening 22 of a predetermined size, and in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles 40 (in this embodiment, a horizontal direction parallel to the film formation surface 20a of the substrate 20). Is configured to move.

2A and 2B are operation explanatory views (part 1) showing an example of the sputtering method in the present embodiment. FIGS. 3A and 3B are operation explanatory diagrams (part 2) showing an example of the sputtering method in the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, when a film is formed on the film formation surface 20a of the substrate 20, first, the target 30 is placed on the substrate as shown in FIG. The edge portion 30 a is disposed at a first film formation position facing the substrate 20.

In this case, the slit mechanism 21 is disposed so that the opening 22 of the slit mechanism 21 is located between a straight line connecting the edge 30 a of the target 30 and the film formation surface 20 a of the substrate 20. In this state, predetermined power is supplied to the target 30.
As a result, a discharge is generated between the target 30 and the substrate 20, and among the sputtered particles 40 a and 40 b emitted from the target 30, the low-energy sputtered particles 40 a emitted toward the edge 30 a (side) of the target 30. However, it reaches the surface of the substrate 20 through the opening 22 of the slit mechanism 21.

  In this state, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the substrate holder 3 is reciprocated in the horizontal direction so that the sputtered particles 40a are deposited on the entire surface of the film forming surface 20a of the substrate 20. Do the membrane.

Next, the drive motor 10 is operated to rotate the drive unit 6 of the sputtering source 4 by 90 degrees about the rotation drive shaft 11, so that the target 30 is moved to the front part 30 b as shown in FIG. Is disposed at a second film formation position facing the film formation surface 20 a of the substrate 20.
Furthermore, the slit mechanism 21 is moved, and the opening 22 is disposed so as to face the front portion 30 b of the target 30. In this state, predetermined power is supplied to the target 30.

As a result, a discharge is generated between the target 30 and the substrate 20, and among the sputtered particles 40 a and 40 b emitted from the target 30, the high-energy sputtered particles 40 b emitted from the front portion 30 b of the target 30 are converted into the slit mechanism 21. It reaches the surface of the substrate 20 through the opening 22.
In this state, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the substrate holder 3 is reciprocated in the horizontal direction so that the sputtered particles 40b are deposited on the entire surface of the film forming surface 20a of the substrate 20. Do the membrane.

  According to the present embodiment described above, in the first sputtering step, the target material layer is formed by the low energy sputtered particles 40a without damaging the film formation surface 20a of the substrate 20, In the second sputtering step, the high energy sputtered particles 40b can deposit a new target material at a high speed without damaging the target material layer by the sputtered particles 40a, thereby increasing the film forming speed. Low damage sputtering film formation can be performed.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the magnetron sputtering is performed by a normal parallel plate in which the film forming direction is changed, sputtering can be performed in a stable discharge state.

  In the case of the present embodiment, in the first sputtering step, the target 30 is arranged at a position where the target 30 is perpendicular to the planar film-forming surface 20a of the substrate 20 as the first film-forming position. Thereafter, the target 30 is rotated by an angle of 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to the planar film-forming surface 20a of the substrate 20, and the target 30 is moved to the second film-forming position in the second sputtering step. If the target 30 is arranged at a position parallel to the planar film-forming surface 20a of the substrate 20, it is possible to perform sputtering film formation with low damage more efficiently by a simple process.

  In particular, in the sputtering apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the driving unit 6 of the sputtering source 4 can be rotated 90 degrees so that the target 30 is positioned at the first film forming position and the second film forming position described above. Therefore, the first and second sputtering steps can be efficiently performed with a simple configuration, and low-damage sputtering film formation can be performed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the substrate holder 3 is configured to be movable in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles 40, the substrate 20 is located at different positions in the first and second sputtering steps. Can be sputtered at an appropriate incident angle of the sputtered particles 40, and the substrate 20 is reciprocated in the direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles 40 during the sputtering. A film having a uniform thickness can be formed thereon.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the slit mechanism 21 is provided between the sputtering source 4 and the substrate holder 3 so as to be movable in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles 40. In the second sputtering step, sputtering can be performed at an appropriate incident angle of the sputtered particles 40 by moving the substrate 20 to different positions. Further, for example, the flying direction of the sputtered particles 40 can be applied to the substrate 20 during the sputtering. A film having a uniform thickness can be formed on the substrate 20.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the slit mechanism 21 is stopped at a predetermined position at the time of sputtering. It is also possible to move the slit mechanism 21. According to such a configuration, the uniformity of the film thickness can be improved.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the drive unit 6 is rotated about the rotation drive shaft 11 when shifting from the first sputtering process to the second sputtering process, but the present invention is not limited to this. Other means may be employed as means for moving the target 30 from the first film formation position to the second film formation position.
However, from the viewpoint of simplifying the device configuration and improving work efficiency, it is preferable to configure as in the above-described embodiment.

  Further, the inclination angle of the front portion 30b of the target 30 with respect to the film formation surface 20a of the substrate 20 is 90 degrees at the first film formation position and 0 degrees at the second film formation position in the above-described embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and, for example, it is possible to change ± 10 to 20 degrees from these angles.

(A) (b): Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of embodiment of the sputtering device based on this invention (A) (b): Operation explanatory diagram showing an example of a sputtering method in the embodiment (part 1) (A) (b): Operation explanatory diagram showing an example of a sputtering method in the embodiment (part 2)

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sputtering apparatus, 2 ... Vacuum chamber, 3 ... Substrate holder (holding mechanism), 4 ... Sputter source, 5 ... Cathode part, 6 ... Drive part, 7 ... Magnetic circuit production | generation part, 8 ... Backing plate, 9 ... Main-body part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Drive motor, 11 ... Rotary drive shaft, 20 ... Substrate (film formation target), 21 ... Slit mechanism, 30 ... Target, 30a ... Edge part, 30b ... Front part, 40 (40a, 40b) ... Sputtered particle

Claims (6)

A sputtering method in which a flat target is used to perform film formation by sputtering on a film formation target in vacuum,
A first sputtering step of forming a film by arranging the target at a first film formation position where an edge of the target faces a film formation surface of the film formation target;
A second sputtering step of forming a film by placing the target at a second film formation position where the front portion of the target is opposed to the film formation surface of the film formation target;
A sputtering method comprising:   In the first sputtering step, the target is disposed at a position where the target is perpendicular to the planar film formation surface of the film formation target as the first film formation position, and then the target Is rotated at an angle of 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to the planar film-forming surface of the film-forming object, so that the target is moved to the second film-forming in the second sputtering step. The sputtering method according to claim 1, wherein the target is disposed at a position where the target is parallel to a film formation surface of the film formation target. A vacuum chamber;
A holding mechanism for holding an object to be formed in the vacuum chamber;
A sputtering source having a cathode portion for holding a flat target in the vacuum chamber,
The sputtering source includes a first film formation position where an edge of the target is opposed to a film formation surface of the film formation target, and a front portion of the target is formed with respect to the film formation surface of the film formation target. A sputtering apparatus configured to be movable so that the target is positioned at a second film formation position facing each other.   The sputtering apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sputtering source is configured to rotate by 90 degrees about a rotation axis parallel to a planar film-forming surface of the film-forming object.   5. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the holding mechanism is configured to be movable in a direction intersecting a flight direction of the sputtered particles.   The sputtering apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a slit mechanism is provided between the sputtering source and the holding mechanism, the slit mechanism being movable in a direction intersecting with the flying direction of the sputtered particles.

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