The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 18, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 12, 1997
Swie-In Tan, San Jose, CA (US);
David Ian Pearson, Hampshire, GB;
Read-Rite Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Nordiko, Ltd., , GB;
Abstract
A sputtering apparatus includes a rotatable array plate and a magnetic array including a group of permanent magnets arranged around the plate periphery in one or more quadrants. Each magnet is perpendicular to the plate, having a pole of a first polarity facing toward the target. A bar permanent magnet is affixed to the plate within the same quadrant of a group of magnets and is located between a center axis of rotation and the magnet group. The bar permanent magnet is perpendicular to the plate, having a pole of a second polarity facing toward the target. The magnets create a closed-loop static magnetic field that is substantially triangular in shape, concentrated in the quadrant, and offset from the center axis of rotation. The magnets in one quadrant may be replicated to fill up to four quadrants, and additional bar magnets are arranged to create a rotating magnetic field at the target that patterns the plasma to a maximum plasma density in the shape of a kidney. Each arrangement creates an axi-symmetric target erosion profile for optimizing deposition uniformity at the substrate, when rotated behind the sputtering target.