JPH11200041A - Multiple magnetron sputtering device and cathode used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiple magnetron sputtering device capable of depositing magnetic/nonmagnetic thin coating-coexisting laminated coating good in the distribution of coating thickness and coating quality and to provide a cathode used for this. SOLUTION: In a multiple magnetron sputtering device having a primary cathode 43 for a magnetic target 11 and a secondary cathode 41 (42) for a nonmagnetic target, on the space between the nonmagnetic target 12 of the secondary cathode and a magnet 3, a primary magnetic substance 51 is arranged in contact with the nonmagnetic target 12, and the intensity of the leakage magnetic field in the surface of the nonmagnetic target 12 is regulated so as to substantially be equal to that in the surface of the magnetic target 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus having a plurality of sputtering targets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the density of magnetic recording / reproducing devices in hard disks and the like has been increasing, and in order to achieve such a high density, a composite magnetic head of a recording / reproducing separation type has been used instead of a conventional inductive head. is necessary. That is, it is necessary to employ a magneto-resistive head using an anisotropic magneto-resistive effect (AMR) for directly detecting the magnetic flux of the medium or a spin-valve giant magneto-resistive effect (SV-GMR) for the reproducing head. It has become to.

A functional element using such a magnetoresistive effect film is formed by laminating a thin magnetic film and a non-magnetic film in a mixed manner. In particular, a spin-valve element using the SV-GMR effect is a high-performance element that directly utilizes the interaction between the films at the atomic spin level and the exchange coupling magnetic field. In order to mass-produce this spin valve element, it is necessary to control the film thickness on the order of several atoms over the entire wafer having a diameter of 3 to 6 inches. Therefore, in manufacturing a spin valve element, a continuous multilayer film deposition technique is required at a high ultimate vacuum. In order to form a continuous laminated film, it is necessary to form a film by a multi-source sputtering apparatus provided with a plurality of 3 to 6 cathodes (targets) in the same vacuum chamber (chamber). As a multi-source sputtering apparatus, a so-called magnetron sputtering apparatus having a cathode provided with a magnet is generally used because of the requirements such as the crystal orientation and the effect that the film on the wafer is not affected by plasma during film formation.

In this magnetron sputtering apparatus, in order to form a predetermined orthogonal electromagnetic field (E × B) on the surface of a sputtering target (hereinafter simply referred to as “target”), a magnet (permanent magnet) is provided near the target. Is arranged. Since a magnetic target typified by NiFe and CoFe is used for the composite read / write magnetic head, the magnet usually used for the cathode of the magnetron sputtering apparatus is BH.
A rare-earth Co magnet or NdFeB-based magnet having a large energy product is used. When a magnetoresistive multilayer film is formed using a conventional multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus, a plurality of cathodes using magnets of the same structure and material are arranged in a chamber regardless of a plurality of magnetic and non-magnetic targets. The film has been formed.

[0005]

In order to suppress the variation in the output of the magnetic head and to improve the performance of the laminated film magnetic transducer using the magnetoresistive effect film such as the reduction of noise, it is necessary to reduce the atomic level over the entire effective area of the wafer. Is required, and furthermore, good crystallinity and uniformity with respect to film thickness and crystallinity are required. That is, improvement of the film thickness and crystallinity at the film formation level by the magnetron sputtering method is a key technology for improving the performance of the laminated film magnetic transducer. However, in view of the objective of further improving the performance of these laminated film magnetic transducers, the conventional magnetic / non-magnetic mixed laminated film has a film thickness distribution and device characteristics that are not uniform on a wafer. A multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus that meets the purpose is desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform film thickness on a wafer having a constant diameter such as 3 to 6 inches. That is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an AMR effect and an SV-
An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having excellent characteristics such as the GMR effect.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an AMR effect or S
An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform distribution of characteristics such as a V-GMR effect.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cathode for use in a multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform film thickness on a wafer having a constant diameter. That is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an AMR effect and an SV-
An object of the present invention is to provide a cathode used in a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having excellent characteristics such as the GMR effect.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an AMR effect and an SV-G
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cathode used in a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform distribution of characteristics such as an MR effect.

Still another object of the present invention is to realize a homogeneous and high-performance laminated film magnetic transducer.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, a first feature of the present invention is that a chamber capable of evacuating and a first magnetic target for a first magnetic target disposed in the chamber are provided. A cathode and a second for a non-magnetic target
And a cathode. Here, the first cathode has at least a first magnetic target and a first magnet. The second cathode has at least a nonmagnetic target, a second magnet, and a first magnetic body inserted between the nonmagnetic target and the second magnet, and is the same as the first cathode. Are arranged in a chamber. In the first aspect of the present invention, the first cathode and the second cathode have different structures from each other. In general, when a magnetic target and a non-magnetic target are arranged on a magnetron sputtering cathode having the same structure, the strength of the leakage magnetic field on the surface of the non-magnetic target is much larger than that of the magnetic target. For example, when an Fe plate is used as a magnetic target and a Si plate is used as a non-magnetic target, if the leakage magnetic field strength on the Fe plate is 100 Oersted (Oe), Si
The leakage magnetic field strength on the plate is about 2000 Oe. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the leakage magnetic field intensity on the surface of the non-magnetic target can be made substantially equal to that on the surface of the magnetic target by inserting the first magnetic body between the non-magnetic target and the magnet. . In the above example, the leakage magnetic field strength on both the Fe plate and the Si plate can be set to 100 Oe.

The magnetic permeability and magnetic susceptibility of the same magnetic target are different. Therefore, at the same target-magnet distance, magnetic targets of different materials (first and
If the (second, third,... Magnetic targets) are arranged in the magnetic field of the magnet, the strength of the leakage magnetic field on the target surface is different. For this reason, in the first aspect of the present invention, a second magnetic target having at least a second magnetic target, a third magnet, and a second magnetic body inserted between the second magnetic target and the third magnet. The third cathode is further disposed in the above-described chamber to adjust the magnetic field distribution at predetermined positions on the first magnetic target, the second magnetic target, and the non-magnetic target surface to be substantially the same. Is preferred. That is, the cathode having the weakest leakage magnetic field on the target surface (first cathode)
(Except for the cathode), a magnetic material having a predetermined thickness or magnetic permeability is arranged between the magnetic target and the non-magnetic target of the other cathodes (second, third,. May be adjusted to be substantially equal. For example, by making the thicknesses of the first magnetic body and the second magnetic body different, the intensity of the leakage magnetic field on the surfaces of the first magnetic target, the second magnetic target, and the nonmagnetic target is substantially increased. Can be equal to

Since the magnetic field distribution on each target surface is substantially the same, the distribution of the thin film deposited by sputtering is improved. Further, a multi-layer laminated magnetic transducer A having a multi-layer structure in which a magnetic film and a non-magnetic film coexist.
The MR effect and the GMR effect are improved. For example, a higher resistance change rate ΔGMR is obtained, and the uniformity on the wafer surface is increased.

A second feature of the present invention is a cathode for a multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus configured to insert a magnetic material between a target and a magnet to adjust the strength of a leakage magnetic field on the target surface. . In other words, for a cathode that uses a non-magnetic target or a magnetic target that has a large leakage magnetic field, the leakage magnetic field on the target surface can be reduced by selecting the thickness and material of the magnetic material inserted between the target and the magnet. The leakage magnetic field on the surface of the weakest magnetic target can be made the same. As a result, even if a plurality of cathodes according to the second aspect of the present invention are arranged in the chamber of the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus, the leakage magnetic field on each target surface can be made the same. Therefore, even when a plurality of magnetic films having different magnetic permeability from each other or a multilayer film in which a magnetic film and a non-magnetic film are mixed are deposited by sputtering, the uniformity of the film thickness is high, and characteristics such as the GMR effect peculiar to the multilayer film structure are obtained. Can also be improved. In addition, the uniformity of the characteristics such as the GMR effect on the wafer surface is improved.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a typical sectional view showing an outline of a multi-source magnetron sputtering device concerning an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber 33 capable of evacuating,
At least a first cathode 43 for a first magnetic target and a second cathode 41 for a non-magnetic target are provided in the chamber 33. As shown in FIG. 2B, the second cathode 41 has a first magnetic body 51 inserted between the nonmagnetic target 12 and the magnet (second magnet) 3. On the other hand, the first cathode 43 is, as shown in FIG.
There is no first magnetic body between the first magnet and the magnet (first magnet) 3. The first magnet and the second magnet may be the same magnet. In the chamber 33 of FIG. 1, “another second cathode” 42 for a non-magnetic target is further shown. Further, needless to say, another second cathode or another first cathode may be included in the chamber 33. Specifically, the first cathode 43 uses a NiFe alloy as a magnetic target, the second cathode uses Ta as a nonmagnetic target, and the other second cathode 41 uses Cu as a nonmagnetic target. A rotatable substrate holder 3 is provided above the chamber 33.
2, a substrate (wafer) is provided in the substrate holder 32.
31 are held. The substrate holder 32 may be a known vacuum rotation introducing mechanism, for example, a magnet type or O-ring type rotation introducing mechanism, and may be sequentially rotated so that the substrate is located at a position facing each cathode. Although not shown in FIG. 1, if a vacuum preparation chamber is provided in the vicinity of the substrate holder 32 and a load lock mechanism is provided, the substrate can be quickly exchanged. It is.

The chamber 33 is provided with a gas introduction pipe 36, a shut-off valve 37, a flow control valve 38 such as a needle valve or a mass flow controller, and is capable of introducing an Ar gas or the like as an atmosphere gas during sputtering. . Further, the chamber 33 is provided with a high pressure (low vacuum degree) exhaust pipe 29 and a low pressure (high vacuum degree) exhaust pipe 30. An ultra-high vacuum exhaust pump 35 such as a cryopump is connected to the low-pressure exhaust pipe 30 via a variable flow valve 28 and a gate valve 39, and the chamber 33 is set to about 5 × 10 ⁻⁶ Pa to about 7 × 10 ⁻⁷ Pa. It can be exhausted. On the other hand, a high-pressure vacuum pump 27 such as an oil rotary pump or a mechanical booster pump is connected to the high-pressure exhaust pipe 29 via a gate valve 34.
The inside of the chamber 33 can be preliminarily evacuated to a predetermined pressure. That is, using the high-pressure vacuum pump 27, the inside of the chamber 33 is preliminarily evacuated from atmospheric pressure to a predetermined intermediate pressure, the gate valve 34 is closed, and the chamber 33 is switched to an ultrahigh-vacuum evacuation pump 35 such as a cryopump. You can do it. The main exhaust is performed by the ultra-high vacuum exhaust pump 35, and when a predetermined background pressure (ultimate pressure) is reached, the shut-off valve 37
Then, a sputtering gas such as an Ar gas is introduced through the flow control valve 38, and the pressure in the chamber is set to a predetermined sputtering pressure such as 0.1 Pa using the flow control valve 38 and the variable flow valve 28. By exhausting the sputtering gas with an ultra-high vacuum exhaust pump 35 such as a cryopump, the residual carbon (C) and the like are reduced.
Sputtering can be performed in a high-purity atmosphere gas.
As the variable flow valve 28 and the gate valve 39 connected to the low-pressure exhaust pipe 30, an integrated valve having both a variable flow function and a shut-off function may be used.

Here, the substrate holder 32 is connected to the ground potential, and a high-frequency high voltage is applied to the targets 11 and 12 of the respective cathodes via the backing plate 2. That is, the electrode portion (not shown) to which the backing plate 2 is attached has a water-cooled structure, and is insulated from the chamber 33 and is exposed to the atmosphere. A high-frequency high-frequency voltage is applied to this electrode from a high-frequency power supply (not shown) via a matching box. Since the plasma is effectively concentrated on the target surface by the orthogonal electromagnetic field generated by the magnet of each cathode, the target is sputtered efficiently.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a cathode of a multi-unit magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view around the cathode (first cathode) of the magnetic target.
FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view around the cathode (second cathode) of the nonmagnetic target.
The nonmagnetic target 12 shown in FIG.
And the target diameter is φ75 mm (3 inches). The target thickness is 3 mm. The magnetic circuit is composed of a magnet (second magnet) 3 as an NdFeB magnet, and the yoke 4 as an electromagnetic soft iron. Non-magnetic target 12
A first magnetic body 51 made of electromagnetic soft iron is provided between the first magnetic body 51 and the magnet (second magnet) 3. The backing plate 2 is in contact with the bottom surface of the first magnetic body 51, and the backing plate 2 is connected to an electrode to which a high-frequency voltage is applied. The first magnetic body 51 has the same size as the target diameter and a thickness of 1 mm. First magnetic body 51
The distance between the bottom surface of the magnet and the top surface of the magnet (second magnet) 3 is 2 mm. On the other hand, the first magnetic target 11 shown in FIG. 2A is made of a NiFe alloy. The target diameter of the first magnetic target 11 is φ75 mm (3 inches), and the target thickness is 3 mm. The magnetic circuit is made of an NdFeB magnet for the magnet (first magnet) 3 and the yoke 4 is made of soft magnetic iron as in the case of the non-magnetic target, so that the first magnetic target 11 and the magnet (first magnet) surface The interval was 2 mm as in FIG. 2 (b). Since the first cathode 43 shown in FIG. 2A has no first magnetic material, the backing plate 2 is in direct contact with the first magnetic target 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, by inserting the first magnetic body 51 only into the second cathode 41 (42) using the non-magnetic target 12, the first magnetic target 11 is inserted.
And a magnetic field distribution on the surface of the nonmagnetic target 12,
Alternatively, the strength of the leakage magnetic field can be made substantially the same, and the sputtering conditions for the magnetic target and the non-magnetic target can be made equal.

The distance between substrate targets is set to 1 by using the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a conventional multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus.
60mm, Ar gas pressure during sputtering 0.27Pa
FIG. 3 shows the results of the film formation under the conditions described above.

FIG. 3A shows a film thickness distribution on a substrate (wafer) when a film is formed by sputtering using a magnetic target (NiFe alloy) and a non-magnetic target (Cu and Ta). The embodiment of the present invention is compared with the prior art. At the same time, FIG. 3A shows a Ta film 61, n having a thickness of 5 nm on the substrate 31 as shown in FIG.
Cu film 62 m thick, NiFe film 6 10 nm thick
The distribution of the NiFe anisotropic magnetic field Hk when the Ta film 61 having a thickness of 3.5 nm is continuously deposited is shown by comparing the first embodiment of the present invention with the conventional technology. Here, the film thickness distribution shown in FIG.

(Equation 1) Is the value of the film thickness distribution defined by

As can be seen from FIG. 3 (a), according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the distribution of films formed by multi-element magnetron sputtering using magnetic and non-magnetic targets and the distribution of magnetic properties are different from those of the prior art. It turns out that it is excellent.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of a second cathode according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 4, the nonmagnetic target 12 is disposed in contact with the backing plate 2, and the first magnetic body 51 is disposed between the backing plate 2 and the magnet 3. Even in such a configuration, the magnetic field distribution on the surface of the nonmagnetic target 12 and the magnetic field distribution on the magnetic target can be made substantially equal. However, the structure shown in FIG. 4 requires caution because the first magnetic body 51 is easily rusted when soft magnetic iron or the like is used for the first magnetic body 51.

Further, in the structure shown in FIG. 4, since the magnetic circuit is considerably short-circuited by the magnetic material 51, there is a disadvantage that the lines of magnetic force hardly appear on the surface of the non-magnetic target 12. From these points, it is understood that the structure of the second cathode shown in FIG. 2B is more preferable. However, in some cases, the structure shown in FIG. 4 can be adopted. A soft magnetic stainless steel such as a Cr stainless steel may be used as the first magnetic material that does not easily rust.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a typical sectional view showing an outline of a multi-source magnetron sputtering device concerning an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber 33 capable of evacuating,
It comprises at least a first cathode 43 for a first magnetic target, a second cathode 41 for a non-magnetic target, and a third cathode 44 for a second magnetic target, which are arranged in the chamber 33. doing. The second cathode 41 is, as shown in FIG.
A first magnetic body 51 is inserted between the magnet 2 and the magnet (second magnet) 3. The third cathode 44 is a cathode having the second magnetic target 23 having a smaller magnetic permeability than the first magnetic target 21 of the first cathode 43, and as shown in FIG. The second magnetic body 52 thinner than 51
And a magnet (third magnet) 3. On the other hand, the first cathode 43 has no first magnetic material between the first magnetic target 21 and the magnet (first magnet) 3 as shown in FIG. First
The same magnet may be used for the second and third magnets. In the chamber 33 of FIG. 1, “another second cathode” 42 for a non-magnetic target is further shown. Of course, another second cathode and another first cathode may be included in the chamber 33. If a third magnetic target having a lower magnetic permeability than the second magnetic target 23 is required, a third magnetic substance thicker than the second magnetic substance is provided between the third magnetic substance and the magnet. Needless to say, the fourth cathode may be provided. Specifically, the first cathode 43 is a CoFe alloy as the first magnetic target 21, the second cathode 42 is Ta as the nonmagnetic target 22, and the other second cathode 41 is the nonmagnetic target 22.
Cu, the third cathode is the second magnetic target 2
3 is a NiFe alloy.

A rotatable substrate holder 32 is provided above the chamber 33, and the substrate (wafer) 31 is held in the substrate holder 32. The substrate holder 32 may be rotated by a known vacuum rotation introducing mechanism so that the substrate is positioned at a position facing each cathode. Although not shown in FIG. 5, a load lock mechanism may be provided near the substrate holder 32. The chamber 33 is provided with a gas introduction pipe 36, a shut-off valve 37, a flow control valve 38 such as a needle valve or a mass flow controller, and is capable of introducing an Ar gas or the like as an atmosphere gas during sputtering. Further, the chamber 33 is provided with a high-pressure exhaust pipe 29 and a low-pressure exhaust pipe 30. The low-pressure exhaust pipe 30 has a variable flow valve 28
And an ultra-high vacuum evacuation pump 35 such as a cryopump is connected via a gate valve 39, and the chamber 33 is 5 ×
The gas can be exhausted to about 10 ⁻⁶ Pa to 7 × 10 ⁻⁷ Pa. On the other hand, a high-pressure vacuum pump 27 such as an oil rotary pump or a mechanical booster pump is connected to the high-pressure exhaust pipe 29 via a gate valve 34, and the chamber 33
The interior can be pre-evacuated to a predetermined pressure.
That is, using the high-pressure vacuum pump 27, the chamber 3
When the inside of the chamber 3 is preliminarily evacuated from the atmospheric pressure and reaches a predetermined intermediate pressure, the gate valve 34 is closed, the pump is switched to an ultrahigh vacuum evacuation pump 35 such as a cryopump, and main evacuation is performed. Main exhaust is performed by the ultra-high vacuum exhaust pump 35, and when a predetermined background pressure (ultimate pressure) is reached, a sputtering gas such as Ar gas is introduced through the shut-off valve 37 and the flow control valve 38 in that state. , Flow control valve 38
And the variable flow valve 28, the pressure in the chamber is set to a predetermined sputtering pressure of about 0.1 Pa. By evacuating the sputtering gas using an ultra-high vacuum exhaust pump 35 such as a cryopump, sputtering can be performed in a high-purity atmosphere gas containing little residual carbon (C).

Here, the substrate holder 32 is connected to the ground potential, and a high-frequency high voltage is applied to each cathode target via a high-frequency power supply (not shown).
Since the plasma concentrates on the target surface due to the orthogonal electromagnetic field generated by the magnet of each cathode, the target is efficiently sputtered.

The first cathode 43, the second cathode 41 (42), and the third cathode 44 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, the first magnetic target 21 and the second
The target diameter of the magnetic target 23 and the non-magnetic target 22 is φ75 mm (3 inches). The magnetic circuit is configured using an NdFeB magnet as a magnet, and the yoke uses soft magnetic iron. The target thickness is 3 mm. A first magnetic body 51 made of electromagnetic soft iron having a thickness of 2 mm and a diameter equal to that of the nonmagnetic target 22 is provided in contact with the bottom surface of the nonmagnetic target 22 shown in FIG. On the other hand, the second magnetic target 23 shown in FIG.
Is thinner than the first magnetic body 51 (having a thickness of 1.1 m).
m) A second magnetic body 52 is provided. The second magnetic body 52 is also made of soft magnetic iron and has a diameter of the second magnetic target 22.
Is the same as φ75 mm. The distance between the bottom surface of the CoFe alloy 21 as the first magnetic target and the top surface of the magnet (first magnet) 3 shown in FIG.
It is. In the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the bottom surface of the second magnetic body 52 in contact with the second magnetic target (NiFe alloy) 23 shown in FIG. 6) and the first magnetic body 51 in contact with the nonmagnetic target (Cu or Ta) 22 shown in FIG.
The distance between the bottom surface and the upper surface of the magnet (second magnet) 3 is also set to 2 mm. In the second embodiment of the present invention, there is no magnetic material on the bottom surface of the first magnetic target 21 having the highest magnetic permeability, but the second magnetic target 23 has the second magnetic target on the bottom surface of the second magnetic target 23 having the small magnetic permeability. The body 52 is provided so that the leakage magnetic field strength or the magnetic field distribution between the first and second magnetic targets is substantially the same. Further, since the first magnetic body thicker than the second magnetic body is provided also at the bottom of the nonmagnetic target 22, the magnetic field on the surfaces of the first magnetic target 21, the second magnetic target 23 and the nonmagnetic target 22 is provided. The distribution can be substantially the same. In addition to changing the thicknesses of the first magnetic body 51 and the second magnetic body 52, the materials may be changed so that the two have different magnetic permeability.

FIG. 7 shows a multi-layer magnetron sputtering apparatus in which a fourth cathode having an FeMn target (third magnetic target) is added to the configuration of the multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus shown in FIG. Then, a schematic sectional view when a spin valve GMR laminated film is formed is shown. This spin valve GM
As in the first embodiment, the R laminated film has a distance between the substrate targets of 160 mm and an Ar pressure of 0.2 during sputtering.
Deposits continuously under the condition of 7 Pa. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a 5 nm thick Ta film 71, a 3 nm thick CoFe film 72, a 1 nm thick Cu film 73, a 3 nm thick CoFe film 74, a 2.5 nm thick Cu film 7
5, a 3.4 nm thick NiFe film 76 and an 8 nm thick F
An eMn film 77 and a Ta film 78 having a thickness of 5 nm are stacked. The rate of change in resistance ΔGMR within the substrate (wafer) of this GMR laminated film was 7.0 to 7.4%. The resistance change rate ΔGMR when the same structure is laminated by a conventional multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus is 4.2 to 7.4%, which is larger than that in the second embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, according to the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the rate of change in resistance Δ
A GMR laminated film having large GMR and uniform characteristics on the same wafer surface can be deposited.

FIG. 8 (a) shows a leakage magnetic field intensity (H //) distribution in a target radial direction of a cathode of a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The measured leakage magnetic field strength (H //) is shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the leakage magnetic field strength is in a direction (horizontal) parallel to the target surface at a position 5 mm away from the target surface. For comparison, FIG. 8B shows a similar leakage magnetic field intensity (H) in the target radial direction at the cathode of the conventional multi-electron magnetron sputtering apparatus.
//) Show distribution. However, the measurement result of the conventional non-magnetic target cathode shown in FIG. 8B shows that the distance d between the magnet 3 and the target 1 is larger than that of the magnetic target cathode, and the maximum strength is higher than that of the magnetic target cathode. It is a result measured in such a manner as to match the maximum intensity. The superiority of the configuration of the present invention will be apparent from a comparison between FIGS. 8A and 8B. That is, it can be understood that the stray magnetic field intensity and its distribution on various targets disposed in the chamber of the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus can be substantially the same intensity and distribution, regardless of whether the target is a magnetic or non-magnetic target. .

[0034]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform film thickness on a wafer having a constant diameter.

According to the present invention, the AMR effect and the SV
-It is possible to provide a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having excellent characteristics such as the GMR effect.

Further, according to the present invention, the AMR effect and S
It is possible to provide a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform distribution of characteristics such as the V-GMR effect.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a cathode used in a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having a uniform film thickness on a wafer having a constant diameter. Can be done.

Further, according to the present invention, the AMR effect and S
It is possible to provide a cathode used in a multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a mixed magnetic / non-magnetic laminated film having excellent characteristics such as the V-GMR effect.

Further, according to the present invention, the AMR effect and S
It is possible to provide a cathode used in a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus capable of forming a magnetic / non-magnetic mixed laminated film having a uniform distribution of characteristics such as a V-GMR effect.

Further, according to the present invention, when various non-magnetic thin films and various magnetic thin films are deposited in multiple layers, their thickness distribution and characteristic distribution are made uniform, and characteristics such as GMR effect and AMR effect are obtained. Can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the film thickness distribution and the characteristic distribution of a magnetic transducer or a magnetic thin film device having a multilayer structure in which a non-magnetic thin film and a magnetic thin film are mixed, and obtain desired characteristics.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a multiple magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing details of respective structures of first and second cathodes in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing characteristics of films stacked by the multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the cathode of the multiple magnetron sputtering device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a multiple magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing details of the structure of the cathode shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a GM deposited using a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a typical sectional view showing an R lamination film.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a distribution of a leakage magnetic field intensity on a target surface of a multi-source magnetron sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Target 2 Backing plate 3 Magnet 4 Soft magnetic yoke 11, 21 First magnetic target 12, 22 Non-magnetic target 23 Second magnetic target 27 Oil rotary pump 28 Variable flow valve 29 High pressure exhaust pipe 30 Low pressure exhaust pipe 31 Substrate 32 Substrate holder 33 Chamber 34, 39 Gate valve 35 Cryopump 36 Gas inlet tube 37 Shut-off valve 38 Needle valve 41, 42 Second cathode (for non-magnetic target) 43 First cathode (for magnetic target) 44 First No. 3 cathode (for magnetic target) 51 First magnetic body 52 Second magnetic body 61, 71, 78 Ta film 62, 73, 75 Cu film 63, 76 NiFe film 72, 74 CoFe film 77 FeMn film

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum-evacuable chamber, at least a first magnetic target and a first magnet, a first cathode disposed in the chamber, a non-magnetic target, and a second magnet And at least a first magnetic body inserted between the non-magnetic target and a second magnet, and at least a second cathode disposed in the chamber. Magnetron sputtering equipment. 2. A third cathode having at least a second magnetic target, a third magnet, and a second magnetic body inserted between the second magnetic target and the third magnet. Is further disposed in the chamber, and the magnetic field distribution at predetermined positions on the first magnetic target, the second magnetic target, and the non-magnetic target surface is adjusted to be substantially the same. . 3. A cathode used in a multi-element magnetron sputtering apparatus wherein a magnetic material is inserted between a target and a magnet, and the intensity of a leakage magnetic field on the surface of the target can be adjusted by the magnetic material.