JPH0432566A - sputtering equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding a sputtering device, the purpose of this invention is to prevent contamination of the sputtering atmosphere caused by the peeling off of impurities that bounce off a shielding member and accumulate on the peripheral edge of the target. It has a shielding member disposed so as to cover the body, and the shielding member is made of a frame-shaped metal having an inverted letter-shaped cross section, and is held so as to be vertically movable by at least three rolling elements that abut against the outer wall. It is something that is held,
The shielding member is configured to be moved upward when re-sputtering and removing contaminants deposited on the peripheral edge of the target.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus, and more particularly, to a sputtering apparatus that can appropriately re-sputter and remove impurities such as sputtering substances that bounce off a shielding member and accumulate on the peripheral edge of a target, thereby preventing the impurities from coming off and contaminating the sputtering atmosphere. Regarding.

In recent years, various electronic devices including semiconductor devices,
Many are constructed from various thin film materials.

The sputtering method performed using a sputtering device is a type of PVC (physical vapor deposition), in which ions accelerated by an electric field are ejected by hitting a target material. It is an important technology that can both form thin films and etch thin films.

[Prior art] The sputtering method uses DC (direct current) sputtering and RF (high frequency) sputtering.
Sputtering is a method in which a reduced pressure gas atmosphere is turned into a plasma state, and charged particles made of ionized gas are bombarded against the target to knock out the target material.

A film is formed when the ejected atoms of the target material adhere to the opposing substrate. Furthermore, if a substrate coated with, for example, photoresist is placed at the target position, the photoresist may become ionized.

In the figure, 1 is a target, 2 is a shielding member, 8 is a charged particle,
9 is a sputtered material.

The target 1 is a target material processed into a disk shape, and in the case of DC sputtering, it is limited to a conductive material such as metal, but in the case of RF sputtering, any insulating material can be used.

Further, in the case of sputter etching, for example, a substrate coated with photoresist may be used as the target 1.

The shielding member 2 is also called an earth shield, and is arranged to cover the peripheral edge of the target 1.

For the charged particles 8, heavy (and inert) Ar ion gas plasma is often used.In addition, in the case of so-called reactive sputtering, the material of the target 1 is Si, Al, Ta, etc.
For example, a gas plasma of 0□ or N2 ions is used as the charged particles 8.

When removing photoresist by sputtering, the photoresist is incinerated with plasma of 02 ions, so such a sputtering device is called an asher.

The impact of the charged particles 8 is controlled by the shielding member 2, preventing the charged particles 8 from hitting and sputtering the supporting metal around or behind the target 1, so that only the target 1 is sputtered. .

The sputtered material 9 is atoms of the material of the target 1 that are physically ejected from the target 1 by bombarded ions.

Incidentally, the sputtering method has a higher kinetic energy than, for example, a vapor deposition method using Joule heating, and therefore has good adhesion to the substrate.

In addition, for example, in the case of vapor deposition, the degree of vacuum in the atmosphere is generally high, so the mean free path of the vapor particles is long and the directionality is strong, but in the case of sputtering, it is performed in an atmosphere of low degree of vacuum, so The mean free path of the sputtered material 9 is short and it curves sharply, so it has the advantage of good coverage.

Therefore, the sputtered material 9 that flew out from the target 1
It sometimes happens that the inside of the shielding member 2 also wraps around.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, the sputtering method is a useful method for forming thin films and peeling off thin films using various target materials.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the peripheral edge of the target, and 4 is a contaminant.

In the figure, the advantage of the good coverage of the sputtering method backfires, and the sputtered material 9 wraps around the inside of the shielding member 2 and bounces off, adhering to the peripheral edge of the target 1.

Since the peripheral edge of the target 1 is covered by the shielding member 2 and is not sputtered, the sputtered material 9 deposited on this peripheral edge continues to accumulate, and when the amount of deposition increases, it may peel off due to internal distortion etc. becomes dust and contaminants 4
There was a problem in that the sputtering atmosphere was contaminated.

Therefore, the present invention provides a sputtering apparatus in which contaminants such as sputtering substances that bounce off a shielding member and accumulate on the peripheral edge of a target are removed by appropriate re-sputtering, thereby preventing the contaminants from coming off and contaminating the sputtering atmosphere. It is intended to.

[Means for solving the problem] The problem described above includes a shielding member disposed to cover the peripheral edge of the target, and the shielding member is made of a frame-shaped metal having an inverted cross-section. The shielding member is supported by at least three rolling elements that contact the outer wall so as to be able to move up and down, and the shielding member is configured to re-sputter and remove foreign matter that has accumulated on the peripheral edge of the target. The problem is solved by a sputtering device which is designed in such a way that it can be moved upwards.

[For production]

As described above, the sputtering material flying out from the target bounces off the shielding member covering the periphery of the target and accumulates on the periphery of the target, and as it gradually accumulates, it becomes contaminants such as dust and disturbs the sputtering atmosphere. In contrast, in the present invention, this contaminant is removed by re-sputtering.

To this end, the shielding member is held so as to be vertically movable by at least three rolling elements that abut against the outer wall of the shielding member.

When re-sputtering foreign matter, the shielding member is moved upward.

In this way, if the shielding member is movable up and down, if foreign matter accumulates on the periphery of the target, the shielding member can be easily moved upward to remove the target.

The periphery of the sheet can be exposed and removed by re-sputtering by exposing it to charged particles.

(Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main part of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a main part of another embodiment of the invention. It is an enlarged perspective view.

In the figure, 1 is a target, 2 is a shielding member, 3 is a rolling element, 4
5 is a contaminant, 5 is a rack, 6 is a gear, 7 is a claw, and 10 is a sputtering device.

The target 1 is formed of a conductor such as a metal or an insulator such as a metal oxide into a disc shape of, for example, 200 mm in diameter. or connected to a high-frequency, high-voltage power source.

Example: 1 In FIG. 1, the shielding member 2 is made by cutting stainless steel, for example. Then, the sputtering device 10 and the target 1
3, whose outer wall is made of rust-free copper, for example.
It is supported so as to be movable up and down and grounded by the rolling elements 3.

During normal sputtering, the shielding member 2 is lowered and supported so that the distance from the surface of the target 1 is, for example, 5 mm.

In addition, when removing the contaminants 4 deposited on the peripheral edge of the target 1 by re-sputtering, lift the shielding member 2 and
For example, a support is placed under the shielding member 2 and supported so that the distance from the surface of the target 1 is 30 mm.

In this way, the shielding member 2 can be easily moved up and down appropriately, and the foreign matter 4 attached to the peripheral edge of the target 1 can be removed as shown in FIG.
By re-sputtering, it is possible to prevent the contaminants 4 from peeling off and turning into dust, contaminating the sputtering atmosphere.

Example: 2 In FIG. 2, three racks 5 are vertically attached to the outer wall of the shielding member 2. It is supported by a gear 6 that meshes with the rack 5 so as to be able to move up and down. Furthermore, the shielding member 2 can be locked to the gear 6 with a claw 7 for preventing reverse rotation so that the shielding member 2 does not hang down.

In this way, the shielding member 2 can be lifted arbitrarily by the pitch of the rack 5, and when lowering it, the claw 7 that locks the gear 6 can be removed.

In this way, the shielding member 2 is easily moved up and down appropriately to respack the foreign matter 4 adhering to the peripheral edge of the target 1, thereby preventing the foreign matter 4 from peeling off and turning into dust and contaminating the sputtering atmosphere. be able to.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In conventional sputtering equipment, since the shielding member was fixed, it was troublesome to re-sputter and remove contaminants that adhered to the peripheral edge of the target.However, according to the present invention, the shielding member is fixed. Since it is supported so that it can move up and down,
It can be easily lifted upward, and as a result, contaminants on the peripheral edge of the target can be removed by re-sputtering as appropriate.

Therefore, the present invention greatly contributes to increasing the efficiency and quality of sputtering.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a peripheral portion of a target. In the figure, 1 is a target, 3 is a rolling element, 5 is a rack, and 7 is a claw. 2 is a shielding member, 4 is a contaminant, 6 is a gear, 10th) , Fumoto's seven real first children of Ming, 1 of the serenity man E + stirring victory Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) It has a shielding member (2) disposed so as to cover the peripheral edge of the target (1), and the shielding member (2) is made of a metal frame having an inverted L-shape in cross section. The shielding member (2) is held at the peripheral edge of the target (1) by at least three rolling elements (3) that contact the outer wall so as to be movable up and down. When removing the deposited contaminants (4) by re-sputtering,
A sputtering device that is moved upward. 2) The shielding member (2) is held so as to be movable up and down by a gear (6) that meshes with at least three racks (5) vertically installed on the outer wall, and the gear (6) rotates to shield the shielding member (2). The gear (6) has a pawl (7) to prevent the member (2) from hanging down.
The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sputtering apparatus is removably locked by.