JP2008103026A - Forming method of metal protective film, and film-deposition system of metal protective film - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a forming method of a metal protective film whose protective function of a metal material is enhanced and to provide a film-deposition system of the metal protective film. <P>SOLUTION: A control device 13 controls drive of respective chambers F1, F2, F3 and F4 and conveys a substrate 14 into the magnetic layer forming chamber F2 to form a magnetic layer 15 on the substrate 14. The control device 13 conveys the substrate 14 into a tantalum layer forming chamber F3 to coat the whole magnetic layer 15 with a tantalum layer 16 using an oblique incidence sputtering process. The control device 13 conveys the substrate 14 into the oxidation chamber F4 and exposes the entire surface of the tantalum layer 16 to oxygen radicals to oxidize the tantalum layer 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a metal protective film forming method and a metal protective film forming system.

In general, magnetic devices such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) read heads and MRAM (Magneto resistive Random Access Memory) are provided with a magnetic layer made of an Fe-based alloy or the like. When a metal thin film made of an Fe-based alloy is left in the atmosphere for a long time or is immersed in water or an acid solution for a long time, it easily generates rust and changes its properties and loses its original properties. .

  On the other hand, aluminum is oxidized by aluminium itself to form a passive layer made of aluminum oxide on its surface, and becomes a material that hardly generates rust even in the air or in water. Further, stainless steel in which nickel and chromium are added to iron also forms an ultrathin chromium oxide layer serving as a non-conductive layer on the surface, and becomes a material that hardly generates rust.

Thus, in Patent Document 1, at least one element selected from the group consisting of chromium, niobium, tantalum, and titanium is added to the magnetic layer, and a nonmagnetic metal oxide bonded to oxygen on the surface of the magnetic layer. Form a layer. As a result, an extremely thin non-conductive layer is formed on the surface of the magnetic layer, and the magnetic layer is protected chemically and mechanically without affecting the magnetic properties of the magnetic layer.
JP 2001-134918 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the constituent element of the passive layer is added to the constituent material of the magnetic layer, it is necessary to limit the constituent material of the magnetic layer, and its application range is limited. Further, in order to positively segregate the constituent elements of the nonconductor layer on the surface of the magnetic layer, phosphorus, boron, silicon, or the like is further added to the constituent material of the magnetic layer. As a result, it has been difficult to control the thickness of the nonconductor layer by causing variations in the concentration distribution of various elements to be added. Furthermore, since no specific study has been made on the method for oxidizing the surface of the magnetic layer, there is a possibility that the magnetic layer may be corroded due to insufficient oxidation or the magnetic characteristics may be deteriorated due to excessive oxidation.

  Therefore, if a separate ultrathin passive layer can be uniformly formed on the surface of the metal thin film without changing the metal material, the range of the target metal thin film can be expanded, and the nonconductive layer is formed independently. Therefore, the controllability of the film thickness and film quality of the nonconductive layer can be improved. As a result, the protection performance of the characteristics (for example, electrical characteristics, magnetic characteristics, shape, size, gloss, etc.) of the metal material can be improved.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a metal protective film and a film forming system for the metal protective film with improved protection performance of the metal material. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the method for forming a metal protective film according to claim 1, a metal layer forming step of forming a metal layer on a substrate, and a tantalum of several atomic layers on the metal layer using an oblique incident sputtering method The gist of the invention includes a coating step for coating the layer and an oxidation step for oxidizing the tantalum layer by exposing the surface of the tantalum layer to oxygen radicals using a remote plasma method.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the sputtered tantalum particles are incident obliquely toward the surface of the metal layer. Therefore, tantalum particles can be attached over the entire surface of the metal layer regardless of the irregular shape of the metal layer. The tantalum particles adhering to the surface of the metal layer uniformly cover the entire surface of the metal layer in order to adopt a growth mechanism by layer growth. Since the tantalum layer covering the surface of the metal layer is exposed to oxygen radicals, it is passivated by sequentially oxidizing from the surface in the film thickness direction while avoiding damage due to ion species and the like. Then, by exposing to oxygen radicals for a time corresponding to the film thickness of the tantalum layer, a desired ultrathin uniform tantalum oxide layer, that is, a nonconductor layer can be formed. At this time, the tantalum layer suppresses oxidation of the metal layer due to high affinity with oxygen, and forms an oxide having high chemical resistance and mechanical resistance.

  Thus, the oxidized tantalum layer blocks water and oxygen from entering the metal layer, and retains the metal properties, shape, size, color, and gloss of the metal layer. Therefore, the protection performance of the metal material can be improved by the amount of forming a separate non-conductive layer on the surface of the metal layer.

The gist of the method for forming a metal protective layer according to claim 2 is that the metal layer is a magnetic layer.
According to the configuration of the second aspect, the magnetic properties, shape, size, color, and gloss of the magnetic layer can be maintained, and the protection performance of the magnetic material can be improved.

  4. The metal protective layer deposition system according to claim 3, wherein a vacuum transport chamber having a transport system for transporting a substrate and a metal layer forming chamber connected to the vacuum transport chamber for forming a metal layer on the substrate. And an oblique incident sputtering chamber connected to the vacuum transfer chamber and covering the metal layer with a tantalum layer of several atomic layers, and a remote plasma source connected to the vacuum transfer chamber and generating oxygen radicals. An oxidation chamber that oxidizes the surface of the tantalum layer with oxygen radicals, a step of driving and controlling the transport system and the chambers, and carrying the substrate into the metal layer forming chamber to form the metal layer on the substrate; Carrying the substrate into the oblique incidence sputter chamber and coating the metal layer of the substrate with a tantalum layer; and Carry to and summarized in that and a control unit for executing the steps of oxidizing the tantalum layer.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the control device drives and controls the oblique incident sputtering chamber so that the sputtered tantalum particles are incident obliquely toward the surface of the metal layer. Therefore, tantalum particles can be uniformly attached over the entire surface of the metal layer regardless of the irregular shape of the metal layer. Also, the control device drives and controls the oxidation chamber to expose the tantalum layer to oxygen radicals. Therefore, the tantalum layer can be passivated while avoiding damage due to ion species and the like. Further, by exposing to oxygen radicals for a time corresponding to the film thickness of the tantalum layer, a desired ultrathin uniform tantalum oxide layer, that is, a nonconductor layer can be formed. Then, the control device drives and controls the transport system, and executes these processes in a common vacuum system.

  As a result, the oxidized tantalum layer can block water and oxygen from entering the metal layer, and the metal properties, shape, size, color, and gloss of the metal layer can be maintained. Therefore, the protection performance of the metal material can be improved by the amount of forming a separate non-conductive layer on the surface of the metal layer.

The gist of the system for forming a metal protective film according to claim 4 is that the metal layer is a magnetic layer.
According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, the magnetic properties, shape, size, color, and gloss of the magnetic layer can be maintained, and the protection performance of the magnetic material can be improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for forming a metal protective film and a film forming system for the metal protective film that improve the protective performance of the metal material.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a metal protective film forming system. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a metal protective film formed using the film forming system. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the oblique incident sputtering chamber and the oxidation chamber, respectively.

In FIG. 1, the metal protective film deposition system 10 includes a transfer device 11, a film deposition processing device 12, and a control device 13.
The transfer machine 11 is equipped with a cassette C that accommodates a plurality of substrates 14 and a robot that transfers the substrates 14 accommodated in the cassette C. The substrates 14 accommodated in the cassette C are sequentially transferred to the film forming apparatus 12. Transfer. Moreover, the transfer machine 11 accommodates the substrate 14 on which the film forming process has been performed by the film forming apparatus 12 in the corresponding cassette C. In FIG. 2, as the substrate 14, for example, a substrate made of a metal, a semiconductor, an insulator, or a dielectric can be used. Alternatively, a silicon substrate or a glass substrate having a base layer made of a metal, a semiconductor, an insulator, or a dielectric may be used.

  In FIG. 1, the film forming apparatus 12 is provided with a vacuum transfer chamber FX. The vacuum transfer chamber FX includes a load chamber FL, a base processing chamber F1, a magnetic layer forming chamber F2 as a metal layer forming chamber, a tantalum layer forming chamber F3 as an oblique incident sputtering chamber, and an oxidation chamber F4. The vacuum transfer chamber FX is connected to be communicable.

  The load chamber FL has a stage that accommodates a plurality of substrates 14, accommodates each substrate 14 transferred from the transfer machine 11, and depressurizes the chamber to a predetermined pressure. The load chamber FL accommodates each substrate 14 on which film formation has been performed and opens the chamber to the atmosphere.

  The vacuum transfer chamber FX is a vacuum chamber depressurized to a predetermined pressure, and is equipped with a transfer robot RB that constitutes a transfer system. The transfer robot RB carries the substrates 14 accommodated in the load chamber FL into the vacuum transfer chamber FX and transfers them to the chambers F1 to F4. The vacuum transfer chamber FX sequentially stores the substrate 14 subjected to the film forming process in the load chamber FL.

The base processing chamber F1 is a sputtering chamber that sputters the surface of the substrate 14 and cleans the surface of the substrate 14 by sputtering.
The magnetic layer forming chamber F2 is a sputtering chamber equipped with a target for forming the magnetic layer 15 on the surface of the substrate 14, and forms a thin film corresponding to the target type. The number of magnetic layer forming chambers F2 is not limited to one, and the number of layers required for the magnetic layer 15 may be mounted on the film forming apparatus 12. In FIG. 2, as the magnetic layer 15, a magnetic material mainly composed of a transition metal element having a layer structure such as a single layer structure, a multilayer structure, or a granular structure can be used. Examples of magnetic materials include ferromagnetic materials such as Fe alloys (CoFe, CoFeB, NiFe, etc.), and fillers of Fe alloys and nonmagnetic materials (SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O _3, etc.). A granular structure film in which is mixed, an antiferromagnetic material such as IrMn, PtMn, PdPtMn, NiMn, or NiO can be used. The magnetic layer 15 may have a structure including a nonmagnetic layer made of a nonmagnetic material. As the non-magnetic material, for example, MgO, MgF, Al ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ for exhibiting the TMR effect, Ru, Rh, Pd for forming a laminated ferri layer, or the like can be used.

In FIG. 1, the tantalum layer forming chamber F <b> 3 is a chamber for laminating a tantalum layer on the magnetic layer 15. In FIG. 3, the tantalum layer forming chamber F <b> 3 has a vacuum chamber (chamber main body 21) connected to the vacuum transfer chamber FX, and carries the substrate 14 carried out of the vacuum transfer chamber FX into the chamber main body 21. The chamber body 21 via a supply pipe 22 connected to the mass flow controller MC of Ar and _{N 2,} Ar and _{N 2} of a predetermined flow rate is supplied. The chamber body 21 is connected to an exhaust system PU including a turbo molecular pump and a rotary pump via an exhaust pipe 23 to reduce the pressure in the chamber to a predetermined pressure.

  A substrate holder 24 is disposed on the inner bottom surface of the chamber body 21, and the loaded substrate 14 is placed and positioned and fixed. The substrate holder 24 is drivably coupled to a holder motor 25 disposed on the lower side of the chamber body 21 so that the substrate 14 is moved in the circumferential direction about the central axis A of the substrate 14 to be placed (the arrow in FIG. 3). Direction). An adhesion-preventing plate 26 is disposed around the substrate holder 24 to suppress adhesion of sputtered sputtered particles to the inner wall of the chamber.

  A pair of tantalum targets TG formed in a disk shape is disposed obliquely above the substrate holder 24. Each tantalum target TG is disposed symmetrically with respect to the central axis A, and the normal direction of the inner surface thereof is inclined by a predetermined angle from the normal direction of the substrate 14 (central axis A). A backing plate 27 made of a conductor is disposed outside each tantalum target TG. Each backing plate 27 supports and fixes the corresponding tantalum target TG and is attached to the upper portion of the chamber body 21. Each backing plate 27 is connected to an external power source and supplies a predetermined DC voltage to the corresponding tantalum target TG.

  Corresponding magnetic circuits 28 are arranged outside the backing plates 27. Each magnetic circuit 28 forms a magnetron magnetic field along the inner surface of the corresponding tantalum target TG.

  Inside each tantalum target TG, a shutter plate 29 having an opening 29a in part is disposed. The shutter plate 29 and the deposition preventing plate 26 are electrically grounded, and a predetermined DC voltage is applied between the backing plate 27 and the shutter plate 29 and the deposition preventing plate 26.

The substrate 14 is placed, the substrate holder 24 is rotated, and a sputtering gas (Ar or Ar / N ₂ ) is supplied to the tantalum layer forming chamber F3 to control the pressure in the chamber to a predetermined pressure. Next, a DC voltage is applied between the anode portion for the shutter plate 29 and the deposition preventing plate 26 and the backing plate 27 corresponding to the opening 29a. As a result, a voltage is applied between the tantalum target TG and the corresponding shutter plate 29, and high-density plasma is generated between them to sputter the tantalum target TG. The sputtered tantalum particles fly along a substantially normal direction of the inner surface of the tantalum target TG, and reach the surface of the rotating substrate 14 through the opening 29a. That is, the sputtered tantalum particles land on the surface of the substrate 14 (the surface of the magnetic layer 15) along the incident direction inclined with respect to the normal direction of the substrate 14. The tantalum particles that have landed on the surface of the magnetic layer 15 grow in layers over the entire surface of the magnetic layer 15 to form a tantalum layer 16 having a uniform thickness.

  As a result, the tantalum layer forming chamber F3 has an extremely thin tantalum layer (several atomic layers: for example, 1 to 2 nm) over the entire surface of the magnetic layer 15, regardless of the uneven shape of the magnetic layer 15, as shown in FIG. Layer 16 can be uniformly coated.

The oxidation chamber F4 is a chamber for oxidizing the tantalum layer. In FIG. 4, the oxidation chamber F4 includes a chamber body 31 that is connected to the vacuum transfer chamber FX so as to be able to communicate therewith. The chamber body 31 is connected to a mass flow controller M of Ar and O ₂ via a supply pipe 32.
Connected to C, Ar and O ₂ at a predetermined flow rate are supplied. The chamber body 31 is connected to the exhaust system PU via an exhaust pipe 33, and reduces the pressure in the chamber to a predetermined pressure (for example, 0.1 to 1.0 Pa).

  A substrate holder 34 is disposed inside the chamber main body 31, and the loaded substrate 14 is placed and positioned and fixed. A grid 35 having a large number of through holes penetrating in the vertical direction is disposed inside the chamber body 31. The grid 35 partitions the internal space of the chamber body 31 in the vertical direction, and forms a plasma forming space 31U that extends upward and a radical irradiation space 31L that extends downward. When oxygen plasma is formed in the plasma forming space 31U, the grid 35 suppresses the passage of ion species from the plasma forming space 31U to the radical irradiation space 31L, and allows only oxygen radicals to pass through the radical irradiation space 31L.

  An induction coil 36 is disposed above the chamber body 31 and above the substrate holder 34. The induction coil 36 is connected to a high frequency power source via a matching box 37, and is supplied with high frequency power of a predetermined frequency (for example, 13.56 MHz). The induction coil 36 forms oxygen-based inductively coupled plasma (oxygen plasma) in the plasma forming space 31U when a predetermined high-frequency power (for example, 300 W) is supplied from a high-frequency power source. The surface of the substrate 14 held by the substrate holder 34 is oxidized by oxygen radicals that have passed through the grid 35 when oxygen plasma is formed in the plasma forming space 31U. That is, the oxidation chamber F4 is a remote plasma chamber having a remote plasma source in the plasma formation space 31U, and oxidizes the surface of the substrate 14 (tantalum layer 16) placed in the radical irradiation space 31L with oxygen radicals.

The substrate 14 is placed on the substrate holder 34, and an oxidizing gas (O ₂ or O ₂ / Ar) is supplied to the oxidation chamber F4 to control the pressure in the chamber to a predetermined pressure. Next, high frequency power is supplied to the induction coil 36 to form oxygen plasma in the plasma forming space 31U. Then, oxygen radicals are supplied to the radical irradiation space 31L, and the tantalum layer 16 covering the surface of the magnetic layer 15 is exposed to oxygen radicals for a time (for example, 10 to 100 seconds) corresponding to the film thickness (for example, 1 to 2 nm). Expose to. The tantalum layer 16 exposed to oxygen radicals avoids damage due to ion species and the like, and is oxidized and passivated sequentially from its surface in the film thickness direction. The tantalum atoms of the tantalum layer 16 suppress the bonding between the constituent atoms of the magnetic layer 15 and oxygen due to high affinity with oxygen, and the supplied oxygen radicals are taken into the tantalum layer 16 to have chemical resistance and mechanical resistance. High oxides are formed. The oxidation time for exposing the tantalum layer 16 to oxygen radicals is preferably set in advance based on tests and the like, and is set to the longest time during which the magnetic layer 15 is not oxidized.

  As a result, the oxidation chamber F4 can form a uniform and extremely thin tantalum oxide layer over the entire surface of the magnetic layer 15, and the oxidized tantalum layer 16 blocks water and oxygen from entering the magnetic layer 15. Can be made. As a result, the magnetic properties, shape, size, color, gloss, etc. of the magnetic layer 15 can be maintained, and the protective performance of the magnetic layer 15 can be increased by forming a separate non-conductive layer on the surface of the magnetic layer 15. Can be improved.

  In FIG. 1, the control device 13 includes a CPU for calculating various control commands, a memory for storing a film forming program, a memory serving as a working area for the CPU, and the like. The transfer device 11 and the film forming apparatus 12 are electrically connected to the control device 13.

  The transfer machine 11 detects the position of the cassette C (substrate 14) to be mounted, generates information (substrate position information) regarding the position of each substrate 14, and outputs the substrate position information to the control device 13. The control device 13 executes the film forming program based on the information from the transfer machine 11 and causes the transfer machine 11 to perform the transfer process of the substrate 14.

  Each chamber of the film forming apparatus 12 detects the pressure of the chamber and the presence / absence of the substrate 14 to generate information (chamber information) on the state of the chamber, and outputs the chamber information to the controller 13. The control device 13 executes the film forming program based on each chamber information, and causes each chamber to execute a film forming process.

  The transfer robot RB of the vacuum transfer chamber FX detects the hand position of the transfer arm, generates information on the hand position (hand position information), and outputs the hand position information to the control device 13. The control device 13 executes a film forming program based on the hand position information and each of the chamber information, and the substrate 14 accommodated in the load chamber FL is treated as a base processing chamber F1, a magnetic layer forming chamber F2, a tantalum layer. Transport is performed in the order of the formation chamber F3 and the oxidation chamber F4.

  That is, the control device 13 first carries the substrate 14 carried out from the load chamber FL into the base processing chamber F1, and sputter-cleans the surface of the substrate 14 in the base processing chamber F1. Next, the control device 13 transports the substrate 14 from the base processing chamber F1 to the magnetic layer forming chamber F2, and forms the magnetic layer 15 on the cleaned surface of the substrate 14 (metal layer forming step). When the magnetic layer 15 is formed, the control device 13 transfers the substrate 14 from the magnetic layer forming chamber F2 to the tantalum layer forming chamber F3, and stacks the tantalum layer 16 on the surface of the substrate 14 (magnetic layer 15) (covering step). . When the tantalum layer 16 is stacked, the control device 13 transports the substrate 14 from the tantalum layer forming chamber F3 to the oxidation chamber F4, and oxidizes the surface of the tantalum layer 16 for a preset oxidation time (oxidation process). .

Next, the effects of the present invention will be described with reference to examples.
(Example)
A silicon substrate having a silicon oxide film is used as the substrate 14, and the substrate 14 is transferred to the base processing chamber F1 and the magnetic layer forming chamber F2, and an Fe-based alloy layer (Co-10 at% Fe: magnetic) having a thickness of 50 nm. Layer 15) was obtained. Next, the substrate 14 on which the magnetic layer 15 was formed was transferred to the tantalum layer forming chamber F3 to obtain a tantalum layer 16 having a thickness of 1 nm.

Next, the substrate 14 (magnetic layer 15) covered with the tantalum layer 16 is transferred to the oxidation chamber F4, and a mixed gas of Ar / O ₂ (Ar: O ₂ = 3: 1) is supplied into the oxidation chamber F4. The pressure was adjusted to 0.4 Pa. Then, 300 W high frequency power was supplied to the induction coil 36 to generate oxygen plasma, and the surface of the tantalum layer 16 was exposed to oxygen radicals for 60 seconds to obtain a sample of the example. Since the oxidized tantalum layer 16 has an extremely thin film thickness of 1 nm, the sample of the example exhibits substantially the same shape, size, color, gloss, flatness, and the like as the state without the tantalum layer 16. The sample of this example was immersed in an acid solution for a predetermined time, and the film thickness of the magnetic layer 15 was measured. As the acid, a 0.5 N oxalic acid solution was used.

(Comparative example)
As in the example, a silicon substrate having a silicon oxide film was used as the substrate 14, the substrate 14 was transferred to the base processing chamber F1 and the magnetic layer forming chamber F2, and an Fe-based alloy layer (Co-10at) having a film thickness of 50 nm was used. % Fe: magnetic layer 15) was formed to obtain a comparative sample. Then, the sample of the comparative example was immersed in the acid solution for a predetermined time, and the film thickness of the magnetic layer 15 was measured. As the acid, a 0.5 N oxalic acid solution was used as in the example.

表１において、比較例の磁性層１５は、浸漬時間が経過するともに徐々に侵食されて、２０分を経過した後には、磁性層１５の全てが侵食されて消失する。一方、実施例の磁性層１５は、浸漬時間が１２０分を経過した後も、シュウ酸による侵食を発生させることなく、その膜厚を保持し続ける。この結果、実施例のタンタル層１６は、良好な耐食性を発現し、磁性層１５の保護膜として機能することが分かる。

In Table 1, the magnetic layer 15 of the comparative example is gradually eroded as the immersion time elapses, and after 20 minutes, all of the magnetic layer 15 is eroded and disappears. On the other hand, the magnetic layer 15 of the example continues to maintain its film thickness without causing erosion by oxalic acid even after the immersion time of 120 minutes has passed. As a result, it can be seen that the tantalum layer 16 of the example exhibits good corrosion resistance and functions as a protective film for the magnetic layer 15.

Next, effects of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
(1) In the above embodiment, the magnetic layer 15 is formed on the substrate 14, and then the tantalum layer 16 of several atomic layers is coated on the surface of the magnetic layer 15 by using the oblique incident sputtering method. Then, using the remote plasma method, the surface of the tantalum layer 16 was exposed to oxygen radicals for a predetermined time, and only the tantalum layer 16 was oxidized and passivated.

  Therefore, tantalum particles can be deposited over the entire surface of the magnetic layer 15 regardless of the irregular shape of the surface of the magnetic layer 15, and the uniform tantalum layer 16 can be formed over the entire surface of the magnetic layer 15 by the growth mechanism by layer growth. Can be coated. Since the tantalum layer 16 is exposed to oxygen radicals for a time corresponding to the film thickness, damage due to ion species or the like can be avoided, and an extremely thin uniform tantalum oxide layer, that is, a non-conductor layer can be formed. As a result, the oxidized tantalum layer 16 blocks water and oxygen from entering the magnetic layer 15, and the magnetic properties, shape, size, color, and gloss of the magnetic layer 15 can be maintained. Therefore, the protective performance of the magnetic material can be improved regardless of the constituent elements of the magnetic material by forming a separate and extremely thin non-conductive layer on the surface of the magnetic layer 15.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the control device 13 drives and controls the chambers F1, F2, F3, and F4, carries the substrate 14 into the magnetic layer formation chamber F2, and forms the magnetic layer 15 on the substrate 14. In addition, the control device 13 carries the substrate 14 into the tantalum layer forming chamber F3, and covers the tantalum layer 16 over the entire magnetic layer 15 by using the oblique incidence sputtering method. The control device 13 carries the substrate 14 into the oxidation chamber F4, exposes the entire tantalum layer 16 to oxygen radicals, and oxidizes the entire tantalum layer 16. Then, the control device 13 drives and controls the transport robot RB, and executes each of these processes by a common vacuum system.

Therefore, the tantalum layer 16 having a desired film thickness can be uniformly formed over the entire magnetic layer 15 by the drive control of the control device 13. Further, the drive control of the control device 13 allows the tantalum layer 16 to be exposed to oxygen radicals for a processing time corresponding to the film thickness of the tantalum layer 16. Therefore, a passive layer having a desired film thickness can be more reliably formed over the entire surface of the magnetic layer 15. Moreover, since these steps are performed in a common vacuum system, oxidation due to the release of the magnetic layer 15 to the atmosphere can be reliably avoided.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, the metal layer is embodied as the magnetic layer 15, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the metal layer may be composed of a nonmagnetic metal.

  In the embodiment described above, the tantalum layer forming step and the oxidation step are performed by the common film forming apparatus 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the tantalum layer forming step and the oxidation step may be executed by different film forming apparatuses.

The figure which shows the film-forming system of the metal protective film of this embodiment. The figure explaining a metal protective film similarly. Similarly, the figure explaining a tantalum layer formation chamber. Similarly, the figure explaining an oxidation chamber.

Explanation of symbols

  FX ... vacuum transfer chamber, F2 ... magnetic layer formation chamber as a metal layer formation chamber, F3 ... tantalum layer formation chamber as an oblique incidence sputtering chamber, F4 ... oxidation chamber, 10 ... film formation system, 12 ... film formation system Deposition processing apparatus, 13... Control device constituting the deposition system, 14... Substrate, 15. Magnetic layer as a metal layer, 16.

Claims (4)

A metal layer forming step of forming a metal layer on the substrate;
A coating step of coating the metal layer with a tantalum layer of several atomic layers using an oblique incidence sputtering method;
An oxidation step of oxidizing the tantalum layer by exposing the surface of the tantalum layer to oxygen radicals using a remote plasma method;
A method for forming a metal protective film, comprising: In the formation method of the metal protective film of Claim 1,
The method for forming a metal protective film, wherein the metal layer is a magnetic layer. A vacuum transfer chamber having a transfer system for transferring a substrate;
A metal layer forming chamber connected to the vacuum transfer chamber and forming a metal layer on the substrate;
An oblique incident sputtering chamber connected to the vacuum transfer chamber and covering the metal layer with a tantalum layer of several atomic layers;
An oxidation chamber connected to the vacuum transfer chamber and equipped with a remote plasma source for generating oxygen radicals to oxidize the surface of the tantalum layer with oxygen radicals;
Driving and controlling the transfer system and the chambers, carrying the substrate into the metal layer forming chamber to form the metal layer on the substrate; carrying the substrate into the oblique incident sputtering chamber; A control device that performs the steps of: coating the metal layer with a tantalum layer; and carrying the substrate into the oxidation chamber and oxidizing the tantalum layer;
A metal protective film deposition system comprising: In the metal-protection-film formation system according to claim 3,
The metal protective layer is a magnetic protective layer.

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