JP2001172764A - Sputtering method and sputtering apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin film on a substrate mounted on a susceptor by performing sputtering while reciprocating a magnet for applying a magnetic field crossing an electric field between the target and the susceptor in a direction parallel to the target. Is formed, the film thickness uniformity is increased irrespective of both ends and the center of the substrate. SOLUTION: During film formation, the distance between a target 4 and a susceptor 6 is adjusted in accordance with the position of a magnet 8 to make the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet 8 uniform.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a sputtering method and a sputtering apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus or the like has been required to form a film with high precision due to high definition. Therefore, before starting sputtering, the susceptor is moved up and down to adjust the distance between the target placed on the susceptor and the target according to the amount of target reduction, and the magnet is reciprocated parallel to the target during sputtering. A method for efficiently and uniformly manufacturing a thin film on a substrate by moving the substrate is used.

FIG. 3 shows a magnetron type sputtering apparatus. When a film is formed by this sputtering apparatus, the substrate 31 to be processed is placed on the susceptor 32, the air 34 in the sputter processing chamber 33 is exhausted to reduce the pressure, and then the susceptor 32 is determined in advance by the susceptor controller 35. The position is raised to the position, the distance between the target 36 and the susceptor 32 is adjusted, and a sputter gas 37 such as an argon gas is introduced into the sputter processing chamber 33 to adjust the pressure to a predetermined gas pressure. After that, while the plasma power supply 38 is turned on to cause plasma discharge between the target 36 and the susceptor 32, the magnet 40 is reciprocated a predetermined number of times by the magnet controller 39 to perform sputtering, and the sputtering is performed uniformly on the substrate 31. To form a thin film.

[0004]

However, while high-precision film formation is required, the conventional sputtering apparatus described above can generate a large amount of ions near the target by magnetron discharge to increase the film formation rate. When the magnet is reciprocated, the magnet temporarily stops at the turning point, so that the residence time at the end is longer than at the center on the substrate, and as a result, the film thickness at both ends of the substrate is increased, There was a problem that uniformity could not be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a sputtering method and a sputtering apparatus having high uniformity of the film thickness.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention adjusts the distance between the target and the susceptor according to the position of the magnet during the plasma discharge, and preferably also according to the amount of reduction of the target. Thus, film formation with high uniformity of the film thickness can be performed.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a magnet installed on the back side of a target and applying a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor reciprocates in a direction parallel to the target. When forming a thin film on the substrate placed on the susceptor by performing sputtering while moving, the distance between the target and the susceptor is adjusted according to the position of the magnet, and the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is made uniform. It is characterized by doing.

According to the above configuration, when the magnet is temporarily stopped and located near the turning point where the stay time is long, the distance between the target and the substrate is increased so as to suppress the film forming speed. The thickness may be adjusted at each position of the magnet, so that a uniform thin film can be formed at both ends and the center of the substrate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sputtering apparatus which reciprocates in a direction parallel to the target and which applies a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor, the magnet being installed on the back side of the target. When forming a thin film on the substrate placed on the susceptor, the distance between the target and the susceptor is adjusted according to the position of the magnet and the amount of reduction of the target, and the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is adjusted. It is characterized by being uniform.

According to the above configuration, when the magnet is temporarily stopped and located near the turning point where the stay time is long, the distance between the target and the substrate is increased so as to suppress the film forming speed. On the other hand, while adjusting, the distance between the target and the substrate, which has a large reduction according to the stay time of the magnet, may be adjusted to be small, thereby making the film thickness deposited at each position of the magnet uniform. And a uniform thin film can be formed at both ends and the center of the substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sputtering apparatus which reciprocates in a direction parallel to the target and which applies a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor, the magnet being installed on the back side of the target. In a sputtering apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate placed on a susceptor, a position detecting means for detecting the current position of the magnet, and a film showing a correlation between the position of the magnet and the thickness of the thin film to be formed From the memory unit storing the thickness data table, the current position of the magnet detected by the position detecting means and the film thickness data table stored in the memory unit, the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is uniform. Predict the distance between the target and the susceptor, and adjust at least one of the target and the susceptor so that the expected distance is formed. Characterized by comprising a control means for moving.

According to the above configuration, when the magnet is temporarily stopped and located at the turning point where the stay time is long and in the vicinity of the turning point, the distance between the target and the substrate is adjusted so as to suppress the film forming speed. Thus, the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet can be made uniform. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the susceptor performs sputtering while reciprocating a magnet installed on the back side of the target and applying a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor in a direction parallel to the target. In a sputtering apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate mounted thereon, a position detecting means for detecting a current position of the magnet, and a discharge power for detecting an integrated discharge power time used for plasma discharge for sputtering the target. Time detecting means, a film thickness data table showing a correlation between the position of the magnet and a film thickness of a thin film to be formed, and a target reduction amount data table showing a correlation between the reduction amount of the target and the integrated discharge time are stored. Memory section, the current position of the magnet detected by the position detecting means, and the discharge power time. From the integrated discharge power time detected by the output means, the film thickness data table stored in the memory unit, and the target reduction amount data table, the target and the susceptor are formed such that the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is uniform. And control means for estimating at least one of the target and the susceptor so as to form the expected interval.

According to the above configuration, when the magnet is temporarily stopped and located near the turning point where the stay time is long and the vicinity thereof, the distance between the target and the substrate is largely adjusted so as to suppress the film forming speed. Thus, the distance between the target and the substrate, which has a large reduction amount, can be adjusted to be small according to the staying time of the magnet, whereby the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet can be made uniform.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a sputtering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a control flowchart for performing a sputtering method using the sputtering apparatus. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a sputter processing chamber, 2 denotes gas supply means for supplying a reaction gas into the sputter processing chamber 1, and 3 denotes vacuum evacuation means for evacuating the sputter processing chamber 1.

A target 4 is installed in an upper part of the sputtering processing chamber 1, and a susceptor 6 on which a substrate 5 to be processed such as a silicon wafer for semiconductor or a liquid crystal substrate is mounted in a lower part facing the target 4. I have. The target 4 and the susceptor 6 are connected to a plasma power supply 7 for supplying high-frequency power.
It is connected to the. On the back side of the target 4, a magnet 8 that applies a magnetic field that intersects the electric field between the target 4 and the susceptor 6 is provided.

The magnet controller 9 rotates the shaft 8a in the direction along the target 4 forward and reverse around the axis so that the magnet 8 screwed to the shaft 8a is rotated by the target 4.
The susceptor controller 10 moves the susceptor 6 in the vertical direction approaching and separating from the target 4. Control unit 11
The signal line 1 is connected to the plasma power source 7, the magnet controller 9 and the susceptor controller 10, respectively.
2 and a control line 13. The control unit 11 includes an input unit 14, a memory 15, a reading unit 16, a calculating unit 17, a determining unit 18, an output unit 19,
The information from the input means 14 and the arithmetic means 17 is stored in the memory 1
5 is connected to the signal line 12 in the reading means 16 and the output means 19
Is connected to the control line 13.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. Before starting the sputtering, a film thickness data table showing a correlation between the position of the magnet 8 and the film thickness of the thin film to be formed;
A target reduction amount data table indicating a correlation between the integrated discharge power time and the reduction amount of the target 4; The target film thickness to be formed during the movement to the position is stored in the memory 15 from the input means 14 through the writing means 20. Here, the film thickness data table and the target reduction amount data table are obtained in advance experimentally.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 5 to be processed is set on the susceptor 6, the pressure in the sputtering chamber 1 is reduced (step # 1), and the target reduction amount stored in the memory 15 is reduced. The data table and the current value of the integrated discharge power time are read out by the reading means 16, the position to which the susceptor 6 is to be moved is calculated by the calculating means 17, the calculation result is output by the output means 19, and the susceptor controller 10 is driven. Move the susceptor 10 (step #
2).

Next, the inside of the sputtering processing chamber 1 is regulated to a predetermined gas pressure by supplying a sputtering gas by the gas supply means 2 and exhausting the gas by the vacuum exhaust means (step #).
3) In this state, the power is output from the output means 19 to drive the plasma power source 7 and the magnet controller 9 to start the plasma discharge / magnet reciprocation (step #).
4), forming a film.

During film formation, the power value is read from the plasma power source 7 by the reading means 16, the integrated discharging power time is calculated by the calculating means 17, and the integrated discharging power time data in the memory 15 is updated by the writing means 20. At the same time (Step # 5), the position of the magnet 8 is read by the reading means 16 from the magnet controller 9 (Step # 6). Then, based on the read position data of the magnet 8, the accumulated discharge power time stored in the memory 15, the film thickness data table, and the target reduction amount data table, the target 4 and the susceptor 6 having the target film thickness are obtained. Is calculated by the calculating means 17 (step #)
7).

The position of the susceptor as a result of the calculation is such that when the magnet 8 is located at the turning point and in the vicinity thereof, the distance between the target 4 and the susceptor 6 is increased so that the film forming speed is suppressed. At the eight positions, the distance between the target 4 and the susceptor 6 having a large reduction amount is reduced. The position of the susceptor 6 is adjusted by driving the susceptor controller 10 by outputting from the output means 19 based on the calculation result (step # 8), and the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is made uniform. .

On the other hand, the number of movements of the magnet 8 is stored in the memory 15 from the position data of the magnet 8 read in step # 6 via the calculating means 17 and the writing means 20, and is stored in the memory 15. Based on the number of movements and the target film thickness, the determination means 18 determines the end of film formation (step # 9). If the film formation is not completed, the process returns to step # 5 to continue the process. When the film formation is completed, the output is output from the output means 19, the power source for plasma 7 and the controller for magnet 9 are stopped, and the plasma discharge and reciprocation of the magnet are completed (step # 10).

By doing so, the magnet 8
In any position, the amount of the target 4 material adhering to the substrate 5 to be processed in the vicinity of the magnet 8 can be made equal, and a film with high uniformity can be formed. Therefore, even with the processing equipment that controls the processing time, highly accurate processing can be performed for the set value of the processing time every time.

In the above description, the distance between the target 4 and the susceptor 6 is adjusted by moving the susceptor 6, but it is also possible to adjust the distance by moving the target 4.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the distance between the target and the susceptor is adjusted according to the position of the magnet, a film can be formed with a uniform film thickness. High quality products can be produced stably. Further, by adjusting the distance between the target and the susceptor in accordance with the position of the magnet and the amount of reduction of the target, a more uniform film can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a sputtering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart for implementing a sputtering method using the sputtering apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional sputtering apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sputter processing chamber 4 Target 5 Substrate to be processed 6 Susceptor 7 Power supply for plasma 8 Magnet 9 Magnet controller 10 Controller for susceptor 11 Control unit 14 Input means 15 Memory 16 Reading means 17 Calculation means 18 Judgment means 19 Output means 20 Writing means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sputtering apparatus is mounted on a susceptor by performing sputtering while reciprocating a magnet installed on a back side of a target and applying a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor in a direction parallel to the target. A method of forming a thin film on a substrate by adjusting a distance between a target and a susceptor in accordance with a position of the magnet to make a film thickness formed at each position of the magnet uniform. 2. A sputtering apparatus is mounted on the susceptor by reciprocating a magnet installed on the back side of the target and applying a magnetic field crossing an electric field between the target and the susceptor in a direction parallel to the target. In forming a thin film on the substrate, the distance between the target and the susceptor is adjusted according to the position of the magnet and the amount of reduction of the target, and the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is made uniform. Sputtering method. 3. A sputtering device is mounted on the susceptor by reciprocating a magnet installed on the back side of the target and applying a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor in a direction parallel to the target. In a sputtering apparatus for forming a thin film on a formed substrate, a position detecting means for detecting a current position of the magnet, and a memory storing a film thickness data table showing a correlation between the position of the magnet and the film thickness of a formed thin film From the current position of the magnet detected by the position detection means and a film thickness data table stored in the memory unit,
Control means for estimating the distance between the target and the susceptor at which the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is uniform, and moving at least one of the target and the susceptor so that the predicted distance is formed. A sputtering apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. A sputtering apparatus is mounted on the susceptor by reciprocating a magnet installed on the back side of the target and applying a magnetic field intersecting an electric field between the target and the susceptor in a direction parallel to the target. In a sputtering apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate, a position detecting means for detecting a current position of the magnet, and a discharge power time detecting means for detecting an integrated discharge power time used for plasma discharge for sputtering the target, A memory unit storing a thickness data table showing a correlation between the position of the magnet and the thickness of a thin film to be formed, and a target reduction data table showing a correlation between the reduction of the target and the integrated discharge time; Current position of the magnet detected by the position detection means and the discharge power time detection means From the detected integrated discharge power time, the film thickness data table stored in the memory unit, and the target reduction data table, determine the distance between the target and the susceptor at which the film thickness formed at each position of the magnet is uniform. A sputtering apparatus comprising: control means for moving at least one of a target and a susceptor so as to form an expected and expected interval.