JPH04350159A - Sputtering cathode - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the contamination of a film forming chamber and to improve the yield in sputtering by using an annular target an covering the target and its backing plate with a shielding frame. CONSTITUTION:An annular target 12 is mounted on an backing plate 11, and the backing plate 11 and the target 12 are sourrounded by a shielding frame 13 to constitute this sputtering cathode 10. The frame 13 is firmly held onto the backing plate 11. The target 12 can be freely inserted into and passed through a through-hole 13c, and the target 12 is exposed from the through-hole 13c.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sputtering cathode that can improve the yield during sputtering and waste less target material.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sputter cathode having the structure shown in FIG. 2 has been known as a sputter cathode suitable for use in manufacturing thin film elements such as thin film magnetic media by sputtering.

In the sputtering cathode 1 shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular target 3 is closely attached to the upper surface of a rectangular back plate 2 called a backing plate, and the periphery of this target 3 and the back plate 2 are in close contact with each other. The peripheral portion is surrounded by a rectangular shield frame 4.

0004

The sputter cathode 1 having the above structure is used, for example, by being incorporated into a film forming apparatus A having the structure shown in FIG. In the film forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 3, 6 is a preheating chamber, 7 is a heating chamber, 8 is a first sputtering chamber, 9 is an intermediate chamber, 10 is a second sputtering chamber, and 11 is a take-out chamber. Each chamber is connected in series to constitute the film forming apparatus A, and a gate valve device 12 is provided at the boundary between each chamber, so that the atmosphere in each chamber can be adjusted separately. . Further, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 13 indicates a heater.

In the film forming apparatus A having the configuration shown in FIG. 3, sputter cathodes 1 are provided on both left and right inner walls of the first sputtering chamber 8 and on both left and right inner walls of the second sputtering chamber 10. It is possible to form a film by blowing constituent particles of the target from the cathode 1.

In the film forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 3, a processing back plate to be subjected to a film forming process is set in a movable holder device, and the holder device is moved to the preheating chamber 6 through the gate valve device 12. The back plate of the holder device is heated to a predetermined temperature and the internal pressure is adjusted at the same time. After that, it is moved to the first sputtering chamber 8 via the heating chamber 7, and in the first sputtering chamber 8, the sputtering cathodes 1 are sequentially or A plurality of sputters are performed simultaneously to form a film, and then the holder device is moved to the intermediate chamber 9, and then sputtering is performed in the same manner as necessary in the second sputtering chamber 10 to manufacture thin film elements such as thin film magnetic media. are doing.

By the way, the sputter cathode 1 having the above structure
When sputtering is performed using a sputtering method to form a film, a phenomenon occurs in which only an oblong shaded portion 5 on the surface of the target 3 is selectively consumed, as shown in FIG. 2(A). Therefore, in the target 3, the portion other than the shaded portion 5 becomes an unconsumed portion, and there is a problem in that the target material in this unconsumed portion is wasted.

Furthermore, in the film forming apparatus A shown in FIG.
Sputtered particles flying from another opposing sputtering cathode 1 adhere to the target 3 of the opposing sputtering cathode 1 to form an attached film. Then, in this deposited film, parts of the deposited film other than the shaded area 5 may peel off during film formation and scatter into the first sputtering chamber 8, so that the scattered substances may contaminate the first deposition chamber 8. For this reason, there was a problem that the yield during film formation deteriorated. Note that an adhered film is also formed on the surface of the shield frame 4, but since the adhered film formed on the shield frame 4 has strong adhesion and is difficult to peel off, there is little risk of it being scattered into the film forming chamber during film formation. It is.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it improves the shape of the target so that there is less wasted portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sputter cathode that can improve the yield during sputtering without causing any adverse effects.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention as set forth in claim 1 provides that a target is mounted on a back plate, and a peripheral part of the back plate and a peripheral part of the target are surrounded by a shield frame. In the sputter cathode, a target is formed into an annular shape, this annular target is closely attached to a back plate, and a shield frame having an annular through hole through which the annular target can be freely inserted is connected to the periphery of the back plate. It surrounds the periphery of the target and is provided so that the target is exposed through a through hole.

[0011]

According to the sputtering cathode of the present invention, since the target is previously formed into an annular shape, sputtering can be performed by effectively using only the portion that is selectively consumed during sputtering. Therefore, the unconsumed portion of the target is reduced, resulting in less waste of target material.

[0012] Since the target is surrounded by a shield frame, even if particles flying from other targets adhere to the shield frame and a film is formed, the film will not be removed from the shield frame during sputtering. It will not peel off and float in the film forming chamber. Therefore, the film forming chamber is not contaminated with peeled off materials from the deposited film.

[0013]

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1A and 1B show a sputter cathode according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sputter cathode 10 of this embodiment has a back plate 11 called a backing plate.
, a target 12 closely attached to the upper surface thereof, and a back plate 11
It also includes a shield frame 13 surrounding the periphery of the target 12, and an insulating spacer 14 interposed between the center of the shield frame 13 and the back plate 11.

The planar shape of the target 12 is shown in FIG.
) as shown in FIG. 1(B), the cross-sectional shape is rectangular as shown in FIG.
1 in close contact with the center of the upper surface of the device. The shield frame 13 is made of a metal material such as aluminum alloy or stainless steel, and includes a rectangular back plate portion 13a and this back plate portion 1.
A skirt portion 13b extends around the peripheral edge of the back plate portion 13a, and an oval (racetrack)-shaped through hole 1 into which a planar oval-shaped target 12 can be freely inserted is provided in the center of the back plate portion 13a.
3c is formed.

The shield frame 13 exposes the surface portion of the target 12 through the through hole 13c of the back plate portion 13a, covers the upper surface of the back plate 11 with the rectangular back plate portion 13a, and covers the top surface of the back plate with the skirt portion 13b. It is provided to cover the surrounding area of 11.

The sputter cathode 10 having the above structure is used as a sputter cathode in the film forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 3 for film forming processing in the same manner as in the prior art.

When the sputtering cathode 10 is used for film formation, the target 12 is selectively consumed in an oval shape as in the conventional case. However, since the target 12 with the above configuration is previously formed into an elliptical shape, the surface portion of the target 12 is completely consumed and used efficiently. Very little is wasted. Also, target 1
Unlike the conventional plate-shaped target 3 as shown in FIG. 2(B), when manufacturing the target material 2 itself, unnecessary parts are omitted, so there is little waste of the target material itself.

Furthermore, when the sputter cathode 10 is applied to the film forming apparatus A as shown in FIG. Then, the deposited film deposited on the surface of the target 12 is sputtered and consumed as sputtered particles, while the deposited film deposited on the surface of the shield frame 13 hardly peels off and contaminates the first sputtering chamber 8. It can be prevented. Therefore, contamination of the first sputtering chamber 8 can be eliminated, and the yield during sputtering can be improved. Further, if the sputter cathode 10 according to the present invention is used in the second sputtering chamber 10, contamination of the second sputtering chamber 10 can be prevented in the same way as described above, and the yield can be improved.

The insulating spacer 14 is a leg that supports the central portion of the shield frame 13, and at the same time electrically insulates the central portion of the shield frame 13 from the target 12.
By preventing the shield frame 13 from becoming the same potential as
The central part of the substrate is prevented from being sputtered, and the deposited film is prevented from peeling off.

By the way, in the above embodiment, an embodiment using an oval-shaped target 12 has been described, but the target 12 may have any other shape as long as it is annular.

According to the sputtering cathode of the present invention, since the target is previously formed in an annular shape, sputtering can be performed by effectively using only the portion that is selectively consumed during sputtering. Therefore, the sputter cathode target of the present invention has a smaller unused portion than a conventional rectangular plate-shaped target, eliminates waste of target material, and reduces the cost of the sputter cathode. Also, since the target is covered by a shield frame, even if particles flying from other targets adhere to the shield frame and form an adherent film, the adherent film will peel off from the shield frame and form a new film. There are no detached substances floating in the membrane chamber. Therefore, the film forming chamber equipped with the sputtering cathode is not contaminated with the peeled off material of the deposited film, and the film forming chamber is not contaminated, which has the effect of improving the yield during sputtering.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(A) is a plan view showing a sputter cathode according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1(B) is a cross-sectional view of the sputter cathode shown in FIG. 1(A).

FIG. 2(A) is a plan view showing an example of a conventional sputter cathode. FIG. 2(B) is a cross-sectional view of the sputter cathode shown in FIG. 2(A).

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a film forming apparatus provided with a conventional sputter cathode.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Sputter cathode 11 Back plate 12 Target 13 Shield frame 13a Back plate part 13b Skirt part 13c Through hole 14 Insulating spacer

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a sputter cathode in which a target is mounted on a back plate, and a peripheral part of the back plate and a peripheral part of the target are surrounded by a shield frame, the target is formed in an annular shape, and this annular target is attached to the back plate. A shield frame, which is closely attached to the plate and has an annular through hole through which the annular target can be inserted, surrounds a peripheral part of the back plate and a peripheral part of the target, and is provided with the target exposed through the through hole. A sputter cathode characterized by