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:
Dec. 24, 2002
Filed:
Aug. 31, 2000
Applicant:
Inventors:
Kaihan A. Ashtiani, Mountain View, CA (US);
Karl B. Levy, Los Altos, CA (US);
Kwok F. Lai, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Andrew L. Nordquist, Mountain View, CA (US);
Larry D. Hartsough, Berkeley, CA (US);
Assignee:
Novellus Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
C23C 1/435 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
C23C 1/435 ;
Abstract
A magnetron source comprises a hollow cathode with a non-planar target. By using a magnet between the cathode and a substrate, plasma can be controlled to achieve high ionization levels, good step coverage, and good process uniformity. Step coverage uniformity is also improved by controlling the magnetic fields, and thus the flow of ions and electrons, near the plane of the substrate.