CN1545568A - Sputtering targets with specific topologies - Google Patents

Abstract

In a standard target configuration, sputtered atoms distribute in a wide angle producing a non-uniform film and poor step coverage, mainly because the flux of sputtered atoms are not collimated and the center region of the wafer (220) experiences a higher flux of sputtered atoms than the edge of the wafer. Sputtering targets (210) described herein are topologically and morphologically tailored such that sputtered atoms impinge directly toward a wafer in a narrow cosine distribution. In effect, the target is designed with a built-in collimator. The desired morphology and topography can be accomplished by micro (e.g., parabolic dimples) (250) and/or macro scale (e.g., wafer contour, circular wave contour) modification of the target geometry and topography. The atoms/ions travel along a path (230) from the surface material (260), which is coupled, to the core material (270).

Description

Sputtering targets with specific topologies

field of invention

The field of the invention is sputtering targets for physical vapor deposition (PVD).

Background of the invention

Electronic and semiconductor components are used in an increasing number of industrial consumer electronics, communication products and data exchange products. Examples of some of these industrial consumer products are televisions, computers, mobile phones, schedulers, palm organizers, portable radios, car stereos or remote controls. As the demand for these industrial consumer electronics products increases, there is also a demand for those same products to become smaller and more portable for consumers and businesses.

As the size of these products shrinks, the components that make up the products must also become smaller and/or thinner. Examples of some of these components that need to be reduced or scaled in size are microelectronic chip interconnects, semiconductor chip components, resistors, capacitors, printed circuit or socket boards, wiring, keypads, touch pads, and chip packaging.

When shrinking or scaling down the size of electronic and hemispherical components, any defects present in the larger components will be magnified in the scaled down components. Therefore, if possible, defects that exist or may exist in larger components should be identified and corrected before the components are scaled down for use in smaller electronic products.

To identify and correct defects in electronic, semiconductor and communication components, damage testing and analysis should be performed on the components, the materials used, and the manufacturing methods used to make them. Electronics, semiconductors and communication/data exchange components are in some cases composed of sandwiches of materials such as metals, metal alloys, ceramics, inorganic materials, polymers or organometallic materials. The interlayer of this material is often very thin (the thickness is less than tens of angstroms). In order to improve the properties of the material interlayer, the method of forming the interlayer, such as physical vapor deposition of metals or other compounds, should be judged and possibly should be improved.

In a typical physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, a sample or target is bombarded with an energy source such as a plasma, laser or ion beam until atoms are released into the surrounding atmosphere. The atoms released from the sputtering target migrate to the surface of a substrate (typically a silicon wafer) and cover the surface, forming a film or layer of material. Standard PVD target configurations tend to produce "center thick" and "edge thin" deposits due to the cosine distribution of sputtered atoms. (See prior art Figure 1 and US 5,302,266, US 5,225,393, US 4,026,787 and US 3,884,787). Prior Art FIG. 1 shows a conventional PVD setup including a sputtering target 10 and a wafer or substrate 20 . Atoms are released from the sputter target 10 and travel along the ion/atom channel 30 towards the wafer or substrate 20 where they are deposited as layers.

In order to deposit more uniform metal films, several methods and devices have been proposed to correct for the large cosine distribution of sputtered atoms. A common approach is to actually install a discrete collimator or similar aperture between the target and the surface of the wafer or substrate. (See prior art Figure 2 and US 5,409,587; US 4,923,585). The collimator is designed to reduce the number of metal atoms hitting the substrate or wafer at large angles, while allowing the metal atoms to pass through and deposit on the substrate or wafer at smaller angles, which reduces the Agglomeration at the top and increasing the fraction of atoms that fall on its bottom and side walls by contact or passage. Prior Art FIG. 2 shows an apparatus comprising a sputtering target 110 , a wafer or substrate 120 and a discrete collimator 140 . Atoms are released from sputter target 110 and travel along ion/atom channel 130 towards wafer or substrate 120 where they are screened by collimator 140 . The atoms passing through the collimator 140 are deposited onto the wafer or substrate 120 from layers.

However, adding a collimator to the target/substrate combination greatly increases the consumption of target material and also shortens the lifetime of the target because atoms traveling at high angles are deposited not on the wafer but on the collimator. , and are thus effectively underutilized in the process. Also, adding a collimator requires a larger target-to-wafer spacing than standard (collimator-less) methods to accommodate the collimator and prevent collimator-shaped patterns from forming on the wafer. In addition, scattered atoms deposited on the collimator tend to clog the collimator, further reducing the efficiency of the deposition and often leading to the formation of undesirable particles as the deposit lifts off the collimator surface.

Another method that attempts to produce a more uniform deposition is to ionize the sputtered atoms by applying radio frequency (RF) power to the plasma (the ionized metal plasma (IMP) method). (see US 6,296,743). In this way, due to the higher mobility of electrons relative to heavier ions, all exposed surfaces in the RF plasma develop a negative potential relative to the plasma. Thus, the direct current (DC) bias itself attracts metal ions to the surface of the wafer without the need for a standoff or surface bias. These vertically moving metal ions usually hit the bottom by contact or pass through and improve bottom and sidewall coverage. However, this RF plasma device and operating conditions contribute to a substantial increase in system cost and operational complexity. RF plasma configurations are combined with magnets to further modulate the pathway of atoms moving towards the substrate or wafer, however these approaches can be cost prohibitive and difficult to handle and monitor. (见US6,153,061；US 6,326,627；US 6,117,281；US 5,865,969；US5,766,426；US 5,417,833；US 5,188,717；US 5,135,819；US5,126,029；US 5,106,821；US 4,500,409；US 4,414,086；US4,610,770和US 4,629,548)。

Other methods of improving the sputtering process to form more uniform films have been proposed. For example, Honeywell Electronic Materials (HEM) has demonstrated that the particle size of targets can be greatly improved by using ultra-fine particle size targets produced by the patented Equal Channel Extrusion (ECAE ^® ) method (5,590,389; 5,780,755 and 5,809,393). sputtering properties. Its demonstrated benefits include low breakdown, long target lifetime, high device yield, better film uniformity, and less particulates. Honeywell Electronic Materials also demonstrated that the target's crystalline texture can be modified in an unpatterned manner to facilitate alignment. (See US 5,993,621 and US 6,302,977). Self-ionizing plasma (SIP) has also been considered as a sputtering method capable of forming more uniform films. This method utilizes low pressure and high power to promote self-ionization of sputtered target atoms. SIP requires widened target-to-substrate spacing, which results in long ion channels. This long ion channel improves the directionality of the house flux but reduces the yield of the target. The elongation of the ion channel leads to a further increase in the cosine loss and a very underutilized target. Other methods include: mechanically adjusting the wafer or substrate during sputtering (US 6,224,718); masking a portion of its surface (US 5,894,058; US 5,942,356; US 6,242,138); (US 6,057,238; US 6,107,688; US 4,793,908; US 6,222,271 and US 6,194,783) and laser sputtering and excitation of atoms (US 5,382,457). With the exception of the ECAE method, other methods require the basic PVD method and device to add additional mechanical or chemical components, which may increase the cost and complexity of the device and method.

For this reason, it is desirable to make a PVD target and target/wafer arrangement in order to a) take advantage of its advantageous minimum depth structure; b) keep the overall cost of the process low relative to traditional PVD methods and c) allow Compared with the traditional PVD method, the instrument measurement device remains simple.

Summary of the invention

Aging processes of standard targets imply that the orientation of sputtered atoms can be controlled by modifying the surface morphology or topology of the target. In the standard target configuration, the sputtered atoms are distributed at large angles to form a non-uniform film, mainly due to the fact that the central region of the wafer experiences a higher flux of sputtered atoms than the edge of the wafer.

The sputtering targets described here are topologically and morphologically tailored such that the sputtering atoms impinge directly on the wafer with a narrow cosine distribution. In fact the target design has a collimator built into it. The desired structural profile can be achieved by microscale (eg, parabolic indentation) and/or macroscale (eg, target surface profile) modification of the target geometry.

The auto-collimating sputtering target can be of any suitable shape and size, depending on its use and the measuring instrument used for the PVD process and what parts can be sputtered in the sputtering chamber. The sputtering targets described herein also include a surface material and a core material, wherein the surface material is coupled to the core material. The surface material and core material may often comprise the same elemental composition or chemical composition/component, or the elemental composition and chemical composition of the surface material may be replaced or changed to a different elemental composition and chemical composition than the core material. Furthermore, a base plate may be coupled to the core material to provide additional support for the sputter target and also provide a fixture for the sputter target.

The surface material is that portion of the target that is exposed to the energy source at any measurable point in time, and is also that portion of the entire target material that is intended to be used to generate the atoms desired as a surface coating. Again, the surface material is that portion of the sputter target that includes at least two intentional indentations that form an alignment profile or surface geometry.

A method for forming a self-collimating sputtering target is: a) providing a core material; b) providing a surface material; c) coupling the core material to the surface material to form a sputtering target; d) making at least two intentional recesses Indentations, wherein the indentations form a collimated profile.

To form a uniform film or layer on the surface of a component is to make a component by: a) providing a self-collimating sputtering target; b) providing a surface; c) at a distance from the self-collimating sputtering target d) bombarding the self-collimating sputtering target with an energy source to produce at least one atom and e) plating the surface with the at least one atom.

The sputtering targets described herein may be incorporated into any method or production design for producing, manufacturing, or otherwise modifying electronic, semiconductor, and communication components. Electronic, semiconductor and communication components are generally considered to include any layered component that can be used in electronic, semiconductor or communication based products. Assemblies referred to herein include semiconductor chips, circuit boards, chip packages, separators, insulating parts of circuit boards, printed interposer boards, contact pads, waveguides, fiber optics with photon transmission and acoustic wave transmission components, any materials and other circuit board components such as capacitors, inductors and resistors.

Brief description of the drawings

Prior Art Figure 1 shows a conventional PVD target/surface configuration.

Prior Art Figure 2 shows a conventional PVD target/surface configuration with a separate collimator added to the setup.

Figure 3 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 illustrates several embodiments of the invention.

Figure 5 shows one conceived method of constructing a self-collimating sputtering target.

Figure 6 presents one envisioned method of forming a uniform film on a surface.

Detailed description of the invention

The aging process of the target suggests that the orientation of the sputtered atoms can be controlled by changing the surface morphology or shape of the target. In a standard target configuration, the sputtered atoms form a non-uniform film with a large angular distribution, mainly due to the fact that the central region of the wafer experiences a higher flux of sputtered atoms than the edge of the wafer, as shown in the prior art Fig. 1. Now, the direction of the sputtered atoms can be controlled by changing the surface morphology and shape of the target. Specifically, the surface morphology and shape of a target can be processed so that the sputtered atoms directly hit a wafer with a narrow cosine distribution, as shown in FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 shows a conceived PVD configuration including a sputter target 210 and a wafer or substrate 220 . Sputtering target 210 includes surface material 260 and core material 270 . The surface material 260 has intentional indentations (micro-indentations 250 in this case). These intentional indentations are also formed on the sputtering target as a frame. As used herein, the term "frame" means any duplication, manipulation, or both duplication and manipulation of an intentionally made indentation. Atoms are pre-screened by the micro-dimples 250 which act as built-in collimators in that they are bombarded in such a way that they are controlled to move out in a certain ion/atom channel upon release. The atoms are then released from the sputter target 210 and move along the ion channel 230 towards the wafer or substrate 220 . Desired morphology and shape can be achieved by microscale (eg, parabolic indents) and/or macroscale (eg, target surface profile) modifications to the target geometry and shape. A base plate may be coupled to the core material to provide additional support for the sputter target and also provide a fixture for the sputter target.

A sputtering target contemplated herein includes any suitable shape and size, depending on its use and the measuring instrument used for its PVD method. The sputtering target contemplated here also includes a surface material 260 and a core material 270 , wherein the surface material 260 is coupled to the core material 270 . As used herein, the term "coupled" means the physical connection (adhesive, interfacing material) of two parts or components or the physical and/or chemical attraction between two parts or components, including, for example, covalent and ionic bonds bonding forces as well as non-bonding forces such as Van der Waals, electrostatic, Coulomb, hydrogen bonding, and/or magnetic attraction. Surface material 260 and core material 270 may generally have the same elemental composition or chemical composition/composition, or the elemental composition and chemical composition of surface material 260 may be replaced or changed to be different from that of core material 270 . In most embodiments, the surface material 260 and the core material 270 have the same elemental composition and chemical composition. However, in some embodiments, if it may be important to determine when the useful life of the target has come to an end, or to deposit a layer of hybrid material, the surface material 260 and core material 270 may be treated to Includes different elemental or chemical compositions.

The surface material 260 is that portion of the target 210 that is exposed to the energy source at any measurable point in time, and is that portion of the entire target material that is intended to be used to generate the atoms desired as a surface coating. Additionally, surface material 260 is that portion of sputter target 210 that includes at least two intentionally indented indentations that form an aligned profile or form. As used herein, "collimation profile" is that portion of the surface material 260 of the sputter target 210 that directly affects the cosine distribution of its atoms in such a way that the cosine distribution is larger than that found in conventional sputter targets. The atomic distribution narrows to a measurable degree. In other words, although there may be external factors that further affect the sputtered atoms, without any external factors, such as magnets, chemical additives, or masks, in combination with at least two intentionally made indentations that constitute a collimated profile, the There is generally always a narrowing of the normal cosine distribution of atoms produced by conventional sputtering targets. The difference between the regular cosine distribution of atoms and the narrowed cosine distribution of atoms can be seen in prior art Figures 1 and 3 described earlier.

As already mentioned, at least two intentional indentations are formed in the surface material 260 of the sputter target 210 in order to produce an aligned profile or form. Embodiments with relatively large intentional dimples generally include a process known as "macroscale correction." The phrase "macroscale correction" is used herein to mean machining the target surface with a circular contour to compensate for uneven wear of the target by the rotating magnets in the magnetron system. Macroscale modification 280 (shown in FIG. 4 ) will generally in most embodiments include relatively large intentional indentations in sputter target 210 , such indentations resembling convex or concave lenses or cones. Embodiments with more than two relatively small, intentionally made dimples generally include a process known as "micro-diving" 250 . The term "micro-dimples", as used herein, means those dimples that form channels having closed-loop shapes, including round (circular), hexagonal (hexagonal), triangular (triangular), square, elliptical, and other Curved or straight-sided closed loops, and will have an aspect ratio greater than 1:1. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of micro-indentations in a sputtering target. FIG. 4 is a top view of micro-indentations 250 and macro-scale modifications 280 in sputter target 210 . FIG. 4 also shows the principle of closed-loop shape design in a sputtering target including micro-dimples 250 . It is further envisioned that a sputtering target may have both macroscale modification 280 and micro-indentation 250 . Sputtering targets 4(b) and 4(d) in FIG. 4 are examples of targets that include both macroscale modification 280 and micro-dimples 250.

Macroscale modifications 280 and micro-indentations 250 can be formed either by embossing when the target is initially fabricated or by some physical or mechanical processing, chemical and/or etching/removal methods. It is further contemplated that macroscale modification 280 may be stamped onto target 210 when target 210 is initially formed, while micro-indentation 250 may be etched into target 210 after the target is initially formed, or vice versa. More specifically, as shown in Figure 5, the forming method of self-collimating sputtering target 210 is: a) providing a core material 270 (330); b) providing a surface material 260 (310); c) forming the core material 270 is coupled to surface material 260 to form sputter target 210 (320) and d) making at least two intentional indentations, wherein the indentations form an aligned profile (330).

The core material 270 is designed to provide support to the surface material 260 and may provide additional atoms or information about the target's end-of-life during sputtering. For example, where the core material 270 comprises a different material than the original surface material 260 and the quality control device detects the presence of core material atoms in the space between the target 210 and the wafer 220, the target 210 may need to be removed and reworked Or scrapped entirely, because the chemical integrity and elemental purity of its metallization may be compromised by depositing undesired material on the native surface/wafer layer. Core material 270 is again that portion of sputter target 210 that does not include macroscale modification 280 or micro-indentation 250 , in other words, the core material is generally structurally and shape-invariant.

Sputtering target 210 may generally comprise any material that will a) reliably form a sputtering target; b) sputter from the target when bombarded by an energy source; and c) be suitable for producing final or primary layer. Materials contemplated for making a suitable sputter target 210 are metals, metal alloys, conductive polymers, conductive composites, conductive monomers, dielectric materials, hardmask materials, and any other suitable sputtering materials. As used herein, the term "metal" refers to those elements in the d-block and f-block of the periodic table, along with those elements having metal-like properties such as silicon and germanium. As used herein, "d-block" refers to those elements which have electrons filling the 3d, 4d, 5d and 6d orbitals around the core of the element. As used herein, "f-block" refers to those elements that have electrons filling the 4f and 5f orbitals around the core of the element, including the lanthanides and actinides. Preferred metals include titanium, silicon, cobalt, copper, nickel, iron, zinc, vanadium, zirconium, aluminum and aluminum-based materials, tantalum, niobium, tin, chromium, platinum, palladium, gold, silver, tungsten, molybdenum, cerium, Promethium, Thorium or combinations thereof. More preferred metals include copper, aluminum, tungsten, titanium, cobalt, tantalum, magnesium, lithium, silicon, manganese, iron or combinations thereof. Most preferred metals include copper, aluminum and aluminum-based materials, tungsten, titanium, milling, cobalt, tantalum, niobium, or combinations thereof. Examples of materials intended to be preferred include aluminum and copper for ultrafine grain aluminum and copper sputtering targets; aluminum, copper, cobalt, tantalum, zirconium and titanium for 300mm sputtering targets; Accumulate a highly conformal thin "seed" layer of aluminum in an aluminum sputtering target. It should be understood that the phrase "and combinations thereof" is used herein to indicate that impurities may be present in certain sputtering targets, such as copper sputtering targets having chromium and aluminum impurities, or that there may be a combination of metals and other materials constituting their sputtering targets. Intentional combinations, such as those targets including alloys, borides, carbides, fluorides, nitrides, suicides, oxides, and others.

The term "metal" also includes alloys, metal/metal composites, metal-ceramic composites, metal-polymer composites, and other metal composites. Alloys considered here include gold, antimony, arsenic, boron, copper, germanium, nickel, indium, palladium, phosphorus, silicon, cobalt, vanadium, iron, hafnium, titanium, iridium, zirconium, tungsten, silver, platinum, tantalum, tin , zinc, lithium, manganese, rhenium and/or rhodium. Specific alloys include gold antimony, gold arsenic, gold boron, gold copper, gold germanium, gold nickel, gold nickel indium, gold palladium, gold phosphorus, gold silicon, gold silver platinum, gold tantalum, gold tin, gold zinc, palladium lithium , palladium manganese, palladium nickel, platinum palladium, palladium rhenium, platinum rhodium, silver arsenic, silver copper, silver gallium, silver gold, silver palladium, silver titanium, titanium zirconium, aluminum copper, aluminum silicon, aluminum silicon copper, aluminum titanium, Chromium copper, chrome manganese palladium, chrome manganese platinum, chrome molybdenum, chromium ruthenium, cobalt platinum, cobalt zirconium niobium, cobalt zirconium rhodium, cobalt zirconium tantalum, copper nickel, iron aluminum, iron rhodium, iron tantalum, chromium silicon oxide, chromium Alum, cobalt chromium, cobalt chromium nickel, cobalt chromium platinum, cobalt chromium tantalum, cobalt chromium tantalum platinum, cobalt iron, cobalt iron boron, cobalt iron chromium, cobalt iron zirconium, cobalt nickel, cobalt nickel chromium, cobalt nickel iron, cobalt nickel Cobalt niobium zirconium, cobalt niobium iron, cobalt niobium titanium, iron tantalum chromium, manganese iridium, manganese palladium platinum, manganese platinum, manganese rhodium, manganese ruthenium, nickel chromium, nickel chromium silicon, nickel cobalt iron, nickel iron, nickel iron Chromium, nickel iron rhodium, nickel iron zirconium, nickel manganese, nickel vanadium, tungsten titanium and/or combinations thereof.

As for other materials contemplated here for use as sputter target 210, the following combinations are examples of contemplated sputter targets 210 (although the list is not complete): chromium boride, lanthanum boride, molybdenum boride, niobium boron carbide, tantalum boride, titanium boride, tungsten boride, vanadium boride, zirconium boride, boron carbide, chromium carbide, molybdenum carbide, niobium carbide, silicon carbide, tantalum carbide, titanium carbide, Tungsten carbide, vanadium carbide, zirconium carbide, aluminum fluoride, vanadium fluoride, calcium fluoride, cerium fluoride, cryolite, lithium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, potassium fluoride, rare earth fluoride, sodium fluoride , aluminum nitride, boron nitride, niobium nitride, silicon nitride, tantalum nitride, titanium nitride, vanadium nitride, zirconium nitride, chromium silicide, molybdenum silicide, niobium silicide, tantalum silicide, titanium Silicide, tungsten silicide, vanadium silicide, zirconium silicide, aluminum oxide, antimony oxide, barium oxide, barium titanate, bismuth oxide, hafnium oxide, magnesium oxide, molybdenum oxide, niobium pentoxide Rare earth oxide, silicon dioxide, silicon-oxide, strontium oxide, strontium titanate, tantalum pentoxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide, lanthanum aluminate, lanthanum oxide, Lead titanate, lead zirconate, lead zirconate-titanate, titanium aluminide, lithium niobate, titanium oxide, tungsten oxide, yttrium oxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, bismuth telluride, cadmium Selenides, cadmium tellurides, lead selenides, lead sulfides, lead tellurides, molybdenum selenides, molybdenum sulfides, zinc selenides, zinc sulfides, zinc tellurides, and/or combinations thereof.

The films or layers produced by the sputtered atoms of the targets discussed here can be formed on any number or density of layers, including other metal layers, substrate layers 220, dielectric layers, hard mask or etch resist layers, photoresist layers, anti-reflection layer etc. In certain preferred embodiments, the dielectric layer may comprise dielectric materials contemplated, manufactured or disclosed by Honeywell International Corporation, including but not limited to: a) FLARE (poly(arylene ether)), such as in issued patent US 5959157, US 5986045, US 6124421, US 6156812, US 6172128, US 6171687, US 6214746 and pending applications 09/197478, 09/538276, 09/544504, 09/741634, 09/6503949/506, 09/5 587851, 09/618945, 09/619237, 09/792606; b) adamantane-based materials such as in pending application 09/545058, serial application PCT/US01/ 22204, PCT/US 01/50182 filed December 31, 2001, 60/345374 filed December 31, 2001, 60/347195 filed January 8, 2002, and 60 filed January 15, 2002 /350187; c) commonly assigned US Patents 5,115,082, 5,986,045, and 6,143,855 and commonly assigned International Patent Publications WO 01/29052, issued April 26, 2001, and WO 01, issued April 26, 2001 /29141; d) nanoporous silica materials and silica-based compounds, such as in issued patents US 6022812, US 6037275, US 6042994, US 6048804, US 6090448, US 6126733, US 6140254, US 6204202, US 6208014 and pending applications 09/046474, 09/046473, 09/111084, 09/360131, 09/378705, 09/234609, 09/379866, 09/141287, 09/379484, 09/392413, 09/549659, 09 /488075, 09/566287 and 09/214219, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety; e) ^Honeywell® HOSP organosiloxanes.

Wafer or substrate 220 may comprise any substantially desirable solid material. Particularly contemplated substrates 220 would include films, glass, plastics, ceramics, metals or coated metals, or composite materials. In a preferred embodiment, the substrate 220 includes a silicon arsenide or germanium arsenide chip or wafer surface; a package surface, as seen in a copper, silver, nickel, or gold plated lead frame; a through-wall or stiffener interface (“Copper” includes bare copper and its oxides); polymer-based component or board interfaces such as those found in polyimide-based flex joints; lead or other metal alloy soldered spheres; glass as well as polymer Such as polyimide. In a more preferred embodiment, substrate 220 comprises materials commonly found in the packaging and circuit board industries, such as silicon, copper, glass or polymers.

The substrate layer 220 contemplated here may also consist of at least two layers of material. A layer of material constituting the matrix layer 220 may include the aforementioned matrix material. Other layer materials making up this matrix layer 220 may include continuous layers of polymers, monomers, organic compounds, inorganic compounds, organometallic compounds, or nanoporous layers.

As used herein, the term "monomer" refers to any compound capable of forming covalently bonded or chemically distinct compounds by itself in a recurring fashion. Repeated bond formation between monomers can produce linear, branched, hyperbranched, or three-dimensional products. In addition, the monomers themselves may comprise repeating structural units, and the polymers formed by the polymerization of such monomers are then referred to as "block polymers". Monomers can be molecules of different chemical classes, including organic, metallic or inorganic molecules. The molecular weight of the monomers can vary widely, between about 40 Daltons and 20,000 Daltons. However, the monomers may have even higher molecular weights, especially if the monomers comprise repeating structural units. The monomers may also include additional groups, such as groups for crosslinking.

As used herein, the term "crosslinking" refers to a process whereby at least two molecules or two parts of a long molecule are joined together by chemical interactions. Such interactions can occur in different ways, including covalent bond formation, hydrogen bond formation, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, ionic or electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, molecular interactions can also be characterized in terms of at least temporary physical associations between the molecules themselves or between two or more molecules.

Contemplated polymers can also have a wide variety of functionalities or moieties, including aromatics and halo groups. Also, suitable polymers may have a number of structures including homopolymers and heteropolymers. Also, alternating polymers can be of different types, such as linear, branched, hyperbranched or three-dimensional. The polymers contemplated cover a wide range of molecular weights, typically between 400 Daltons and 400,000 Daltons or greater.

Examples of inorganic compounds that come into consideration are silicates, aluminates and compounds containing transition metals. Examples of organic compounds include polyarylene ethers, polyimides and polyesters. Examples of contemplated metal organic compounds include poly(dimethylsiloxane), poly(vinylsiloxane), and poly(trifluoropropylsiloxane).

The matrix layer 220 may also have multiple porosity if nanoporous rather than continuous material is desired. The pores are generally spherical, but any suitable shape may be selected or added, including tubular, layered, disk or other shapes. It is also contemplated that the pores may have any suitable diameter. It is further contemplated that at least some of the pores may connect adjacent pores to produce a structure with substantially connected or "open circuit" porosity. The pores preferably have an average diameter of less than 1 micron, more preferably less than 100 nanometers, still more preferably less than 10 nanometers. It is further contemplated that the pores may be dispersed uniformly or randomly within the matrix layer thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the pores are uniformly dispersed within the matrix layer 220 .

Manufacture and use of a self-collimating or profile-specific sputtering target 210 contemplates, among other benefits, simplicity of design, relatively low cost, built-in collimators, good step coverage, and relatively long target lifetime .

application

The sputtering targets described herein may be incorporated into any method or production design for producing, manufacturing, or otherwise modifying electronic, semiconductor, and communication/data transmission components. Electronic, semiconductor and communication components considered herein are generally considered to include any layered component capable of being utilized in an electronic-based, semiconductor-based or communication-based product. Components considered include microchips, circuit boards, chip packages, separators, insulating parts of circuit boards, printed socket boards, contact pads, waveguides, fiber optics with photon transmission and acoustic wave transmission components, any use or combination of dual damascene The resulting material, and other circuit board components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors.

Electronic-based, semiconductor-based and communication/data transmission-based products can be "completed" in the sense that they are ready for production or available to other users. Examples of finished consumer products are televisions, computers, mobile phones, schedulers, palm organizers, portable radios, car stereos, and remote controls. Also contemplated are "intermediate" products such as circuit boards, chip packages and keypads that may be used in the finished product.

Electronic, semiconductor and communication/data transmission products may also include prototype components at any stage from conceptual model development to final scaled-up physical models. The prototype may or may not contain all the actual components intended for the finished product, and the prototype may have certain components constructed of composite materials to eliminate their inherent influence on other components during initial testing.

A method of forming a uniform film or layer on the surface of a component, or for making a component comprising: a) providing a self-collimating sputtering target 400; b) providing a surface 410; c) at a distance from the self-collimating target 420 d) bombard the self-collimating target with an energy source to generate at least one atom 430 and e) plate the surface with the at least one atom, as shown in FIG. 6 . The self-aligning target comprises the sputtering target 210 described herein, and is composed of a surface material 260 and a core material 270, wherein the surface material 260 has at least two indentations forming an alignment profile. The surface formed may be considered any suitable surface, as described herein, including wafers, substrates, dielectric materials, hard mask layers, layers of other metals, metal alloys or metal composites, antireflective layers, or any Other suitable layered materials. The distance between the autocollimation target 210 and the surface 220 is contemplated herein to include any suitable distance that has been used in conventional PVD experimental setups. The coating, layer or film produced on the surface can also be of any suitable or desired thickness - ranging from one atom or molecule thick (less than 1 nanometer) to millimeter thick.

Thus, specific embodiments and applications of topologically altered sputtering targets are disclosed. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications other than those described have been made without departing from the principles of the invention. The content of the invention, therefore, is not to be limited except in the spirit of the appended claims. Furthermore, when interpreting the specification and claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the words "comprising" and "comprising" should be interpreted in a non-exclusive manner as referring to elements, components or steps, indicating that the mentioned elements, components or steps may be present or may be used, or may be combined with other elements, components or steps explicitly mentioned.

Claims (27)

1. one kind comprises that a core material and is coupled to the sputtering target of the surfacing of this core material, and wherein this surfacing has at least two indentures that constitute collimator shape.

2. the sputtering target of claim 1, wherein this core material is made up of identical chemical composition with surfacing.

3. the sputtering target of claim 2, wherein this chemical composition comprises copper, aluminium, tungsten, titanium, zirconium, cobalt, aluminide, tantalum, magnesium, lithium, silicon, manganese, iron or its any combination.

4. the sputtering target of claim 3, wherein this component comprises copper, aluminium, tungsten, titanium, zirconium, cobalt, tantalum, aluminide or its combination.

5. the sputtering target of claim 1, wherein these at least two indentures comprise the macro-scale correction.

6. the sputtering target of claim 5, wherein this macro-scale correction comprises circular wavy profile.

7. the sputtering target of claim 1, wherein these at least two indentures comprise at least one nick trace.

8. the sputtering target of claim 7, wherein this at least one nick trace comprises a circular closed loop passage.

9. the sputtering target of claim 7, wherein this at least one nick trace comprises a sexangle closed loop passage.

10. the sputtering target of claim 1, wherein these at least two indentures comprise macro-scale correction and at least one nick trace.

11. form a kind of method of autocollimation sputtering target, comprising:

One core material is provided;

One surfacing is provided;

This core material is coupled to this surfacing to form sputtering target;

Form at least two indentures of having a mind in this surfacing, wherein this indenture constitutes the profile of collimation.

12. the method for claim 11 wherein provides core material and provides surfacing to comprise identical chemical composition is provided.

13. the method for claim 12, wherein this chemical composition comprises copper, aluminium, tungsten, titanium, cobalt, aluminide, tantalum, magnesium, lithium, silicon, manganese, iron or its any combination.

14. the method for claim 13, wherein this component comprises copper, aluminium, tungsten, titanium, cobalt, tantalum, aluminide or its combination.

15. the method for claim 11 wherein forms at least two indentures of having a mind to and comprises formation one macro-scale correction in this surfacing.

16. the method for claim 11 wherein forms at least two indentures of having a mind to and comprises formation one circular wavy profile in this surfacing.

17. the method for claim 11 wherein forms at least two indentures of having a mind to and comprises at least one nick trace of formation in this surfacing.

18. the method for claim 17 wherein forms this at least one nick trace and comprises the circular closed loop passage of formation.

19. the method for claim 17 wherein forms this at least one nick trace and comprises formation sexangle closed loop passage.

20. the method for claim 11 wherein forms at least two indentures of having a mind to and comprises formation macro-scale correction and at least one nick trace in this surfacing.

21. a method that forms a uniform films from the teeth outwards comprises:

One autocollimation sputtering target is provided;

One surface is provided;

Placing this surface from this autocollimation sputtering target one segment distance place;

Bombard this autocollimation sputtering target to produce at least a atom with an energy; And

Plate this surface with this at least a atom.

22. formed film of the sputtering target by claim 11.

23. formed film of the method with claim 21.

24. by the made assembly of the sputtering target of claim 11.

25. the assembly by the film that method formed of claim 21 of dress.

26. by the formed electrical condenser of the sputtering target of claim 11.

27. the electrical condenser by the film that method formed of claim 21 is housed.

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