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:
Apr. 10, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 19, 1999
Edward L. Sill, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Thomas Licata, Mesa, AZ (US);
Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A method for improving the efficiency of a plasma process such as a sputter process. A low partial pressure of a gas such as oxygen liberated from a substrate in a reaction chamber is maintained. The low partial pressure may be maintained by providing a plasma gas having a mass that is about equal to or greater than the liberated gas to the reaction chamber at a rate so that the steady state ratio of the plasma gas to the liberated gas is at least 1. The plasma gas is preferably argon. Alternatively a low partial pressure may be maintained by providing an in situ getter or a reactive, condensation or selective pump in the chamber. The method is applicable to a sputter etch or a sputter deposition process.