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:
Feb. 27, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 16, 1999
Kwok Fai Lai, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Larry Dowd Hartsough, Berkeley, CA (US);
Andrew L. Nordquist, Mountain View, CA (US);
Kaihan Abidi Ashtiani, Mountain View, CA (US);
Karl B. Levy, Los Altos, CA (US);
Maximilian A. Biberger, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Novellus Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A hollow cathode magnetron (HCM) sputter source includes a main magnet positioned near the sidewall of the hollow cathode target and a pair of rotating magnet arrays that are positioned near the closed end of the hollow cathode target. One of the arrays produces a magnetic field that is aligned with (aids) the magnetic field produced by the main magnet; the other arrays produce a magnetic field that is aligned against (bucks) the magnetic field produced by the main magnet. Field lines produced by the magnet arrays contain an extension of the plasma that is controlled by the main magnet. Charged particles circulate between the two portions of the plasma. The extended plasma is thus formed over a very high percentage of the surface of the target, thereby creating an erosion profile that is highly uniform and encompasses essentially the entire face of the target. This maximizes the utilization of the target and minimizes the frequency at which the spent target must be replaced.