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:
Mar. 09, 2010
Filed:
Sep. 16, 2004
Ilyoung Richard Hong, San Jose, CA (US);
Donny Young, San Francisco, CA (US);
Michael Rosenstein, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Robert B. Lowrance, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Daniel C. Lubben, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Andrew Miller, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Peijun Ding, Saratoga, CA (US);
Sreekrishnan Sankaranarayan, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Goichi Yoshidome, San Jose, CA (US);
Ilyoung Richard Hong, San Jose, CA (US);
Donny Young, San Francisco, CA (US);
Michael Rosenstein, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Robert B. Lowrance, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Daniel C. Lubben, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Andrew Miller, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Peijun Ding, Saratoga, CA (US);
Sreekrishnan Sankaranarayan, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Goichi Yoshidome, San Jose, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A lift mechanism for and a corresponding use of a magnetron in a plasma sputter reactor. A magnetron rotating about the target axis is controllably lifted away from the back of the target to compensate for sputter erosion, thereby maintaining a constant magnetic field and resultant plasma density at the sputtered surface, which is particularly important for stable operation with a small magnetron, for example, one executing circular or planetary motion about the target axis. The lift mechanism can include a lead screw axially fixed to the magnetron support shaft and a lead nut engaged therewith to raise the magnetron as the lead nut is turned. Alternatively, the support shaft is axially fixed to a vertically moving slider. The amount of lift may be controlled according a recipe based on accumulated power applied to the target or by monitoring electrical characteristics of the target.