Evatec Ag

Unaxis-balzers Aktiengesellschaft

Oerlikon Advanced Technologies Ag

Oc Oerlikon Balzers Ag

Evatec Advanced Technologies Ag

Oc Oerlikon Blazers Ag

Juergen Weichart

Stanislav Kadlec

Mohamed Elghazzali

Bart Scholte Van Mast

Stefan Borja Bammesberger

Sven Uwe Rieschl

Frantisek Balon

Dennis Minkoley

Rolf Bazlen

Hans Quaderer

A method and apparatus for sputter depositing an insulation layer onto a surface of a cavity formed in a substrate and having a high aspect ratio. A target formed from a material to be included in the insulation layer and the substrate are provided in a substantially enclosed chamber defined by a housing. A plasma is ignited within the substantially enclosed chamber and a magnetic field is provided adjacent to a surface of the target to contain the plasma adjacent to the surface of the target. A voltage is rapidly increased to repeatedly establish high-power electric pulses between a cathode and an anode. An average power of the electric pulses is at least 0.1 kW, and can be much greater. An operational parameter of the sputter deposition is controlled to promote sputter depositing of the insulation layer in a transition mode between a metallic mode and a reactive mode.

Reactive sputtering with HIPIMS

An electrical radiation heater arrangement for a vacuum enclosure includes at least two sets of linear heating sources, arranged in a corresponding number of concentric heating zones. The heating sources are arranged directly on the vacuum side of the vacuum enclosure and electrically connected to current rails arranged on the vacuum side with each of the current rails being connected to one electrical feedthrough from vacuum to ambient. Preferably, the heating sources are arranged in a polygon approaching a circle, essentially radially or a combination of both.

Radiation heater arrangement

A method and apparatus for sputter depositing an insulation layer onto a surface of a cavity formed in a substrate and having a high aspect ratio is provided. A target formed at least in part from a material to be included in the insulation layer and the substrate are provided in a substantially enclosed chamber defined by a housing. A plasma is ignited within the substantially enclosed chamber and a magnetic field is provided adjacent to a surface of the target to at least partially contain the plasma adjacent to the surface of the target. A voltage is rapidly increased to repeatedly establish high-power electric pulses between a cathode and an anode. An average power of the electric pulses is at least 0.1 kW, and can optionally be much greater. An operational parameter of the sputter deposition is controlled to promote sputter depositing of the insulation layer in a transition mode between a metallic mode and a reactive mode.

Reactive sputtering with HIPIMs

So as to control the operation of a sputter target during the lifetime of the target and under HIPIMS operation, part of a magnet arrangement associated to the target is retracted from the target whereas a second part II of the magnet arrangement is, if at all, retracted less from the addressed backside during the lifetime of the target. Thereby, part I is closer to the periphery of target than part II, as both are eccentrically rotated about a rotational axis.

Method of sputtering and sputter system

An etching chamber is equipped with an actively-cooled element preferentially adsorbs volatile compounds that are evolved from a polymeric layer of a wafer during etching, which compounds will act as contaminants if re-deposited on the wafer, for example on exposed metal contact portions where they may interfere with subsequent deposition of metal contact layers. In desirable embodiments, a getter sublimation pump is also provided in the etching chamber as a source of getter material. Methods of etching in such a chamber are also disclosed.

In-situ conditioning for vacuum processing of polymer substrates

A method of depositing a metallization structure () comprises depositing a TaN layer () by applying a power supply between an anode and a target in a plurality of pulses to reactively sputter Ta from the target onto the substrate () to form a TaN seed layer (). A Ta layer () is deposited onto the TaN seed layer () by applying the power supply in a plurality of pulses and applying a high-frequency signal to a pedestal supporting the substrate () to generate a self-bias field adjacent to the substrate ().

Apparatus for sputtering and a method of fabricating a metallization structure

So as to control the operation of a sputter target () during lifetime of the target and under HIPIMS operation part (I) of a magnet arrangement associated to the target () is retracted from the target () whereas a second part II of the magnet arrangement is, if at all, retracted less from the addressed backside () during lifetime of the target (). Thereby, part I is closer to the periphery of target () than part II, as both are eccentrically rotated about a rotational axis (A).

Method of HIPIMS sputtering and HIPIMS sputter system

A magnetron source comprises a target () with a sputtering surface and a back surface. A magnet arrangement () is drivingly moved along the backside of the target (). A tunnel-shaped magnetron magnetic field is generated between an outer loop () and an inner loop () of the magnet arrangement. Elongated pivotable or rotatable permanent magnet arrangements () of the magnet arrangement are provided in an interspace between the outer and inner loops () of the overall arrangement.

Magnetron source and method of manufacturing

A method of magnetron sputtering, comprises rotating a magnet of a magnetron with an angular frequency &#x3c9;, and, during sputtering of material from a source of the magnetron onto a substrate, periodically modulating a power level applied to the source with at least a component comprising a frequency f which is a harmonic of the angular frequency &#x3c9; of rotation of the magnet other than the first harmonic.

Method of magnetron sputtering and a method for determining a power modulation compensation function for a power supply applied to a magnetron sputtering source

The invention relates to a vacuum treatment chamber for work pieces which comprises at least one induction coil for at least co-generating a treatment plasma in a discharge chamber which is located in the interior of the coil. It also comprises a screen which is arranged between the discharge chamber and the coil, and which is coaxial in relation to the axis of the coil. The screen comprises slots which have a directional component which is parallel to the coil axis. The screen is formed by a self-contained body. The slots are provided along at least the main part of the body's circumference in a slot density per circumferential length unit of S&equals;(number of slots)/cm equaling 0.5&lE;S.

Vacuum treatment chamber and method for treating surfaces

An Rf plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) coating chamber for coating a planar dielectric substrate with a metallic layer or a plane dielectric substrate covered with a metallic layer. A reaction space is provided within the chamber and is confined between at least a flat metallic first electrode surface of a first electrode, and a second electrode surface. A substrate holder arrangement holds a substrate flat onto the first electrode surface and completely covers the first electrode with the first electrode surface towards the reaction space. The first and second electrode surface are connected to a source of Rf power. A dielectric substrate is coated with a metallic layer or a dielectric substrate covered with a metallic layer by an Rf-PECVD coating process. The substrate is deposited on a first electrode surface within a coating chamber, thereby completely covering the electrode surface by the dielectric substrate. Rf energy is coupled into the vacuum chamber exclusively via electrode surface and the dielectric substrate and a second electrode surface in the chamber.

HF-Plasma coating chamber or PECVD coating chamber, its use and method of plating CDs using the chamber

A ferromagnetic magnetron target contains a pattern of blind holes with a circular cross-section distributed along a sputtering surface thereof. A process produces the target for a given magnetron source with a given tunnel field and includes determining and storing the tunnel field course when individual blind holes are provided in a new target surface, additively superimposing the determined tunnel field course of plural individual blind holes, comparing the resulting tunnel field course with a DESIRED tunnel field course; and changing, as a function of the comparison result, the relative parameter position of one or more of the individual blind holes, or the like to control the working of blind holes into the plane target sputtering surface. An arrangement produces a target from a ferromagnetic material for a given magnetron source with a given tunnel field, with a course addition unit which is operatively connected on the input side of the input unit and which, on the output side, leads to one input of a course comparison unit, at whose second input a desired course can be fed and whose output feeds back to the adjusting inputs at the input unit. The adjusting inputs are operatively connected with an output for the triggering of a blind hole production device for the target.

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Balzers, Liechtenstein

Juergen Weichart