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:
Nov. 07, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 16, 1999
Wei Wang, Cupertino, CA (US);
Keith Miller, Santa Clara, CA (US);
James Van Gogh, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Praburam Gopalraja, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for achieving conformal step coverage in a deposition process. In at least one aspect, a target provides a source of material to be sputtered by a plasma and then ionized by an inductive coil. At least a portion of the electrons provided by the plasma and ionized target material are deflected by a magnetic field established adjacent to the substrate. Under the influence of the attracted electrons, positively charged particles are induced to move in the direction of the electrons. The magnetic field may be provided by one or more magnets located internally or externally to the processing chamber and which can be rotated to ensure uniform deposition of the electrons and ions on the device features.