Magnetron sputtering

Ngo Duc The

Advanced Memory Laboratory

Content
Why sputtering?
Physics of sputtering deposition
DC and RF Sputtering
Standard procedures in BESTEC Chimera

System at the AML

Why sputtering?
We are working in thin film world a technique to

produce high quality thin film materials is really

needed!
Sputter belongs to physical approaches of thin film
deposition;
Thermal evaporation has been widely used as a
cheap and fast technique but the quality of the film
is not good enough (definitely, it was grown in
medium-high or less vacuum);
MBE allows fabricating thin film with excellent
quality (single crystal film) but it is very expensive
(too vacuum, very high purity raw material);

Why sputtering?
Sputtering does not require too high vacuum;
The raw materials must not be high purity;
Able to grow the films with very slow rates;
High quality of the film can be reliable;
Easy for large-scale production.

Content
Why sputtering?
Physics of sputtering deposition
DC and RF Sputtering
Standard procedures in BESTEC Chimera

System at the AML

Physics of sputtering deposition

Sputtering is a process whereby atoms are ejected

from a solid target material due to bombardment of the

target by energetic particles;
Sputtering is a deposition process by transferring kinetic
energy. Physical sputtering is driven by momentum
exchange between the ions and atoms in the materials,
due to collisions;
No evaporation in sputtering process.

Concepts in sputtering
Target: Source material to fabricate the film on the

substrate. Target is mounted at the sputter source and

connected to the cathode of the power supply. During
sputter process, target is heated and must be cooled by a
cooling water.
Manipulator: A part of the sputtering where the substrate is
placed on. Manipulator is linked to the anode of the power
supply and is able to rotate, to heat the substrate and is able
to lift up and down for transferring.
Chimney: A part at the sputter source, which surrounds the
target. Chimney has a same electric potential to the anode,
so that the gas only bombards the target. Chimney is used
to concentrate the materials to the anode.

Concepts in sputtering

Sputtering targets
Sputter sources

Shutter

A used target
Chimneys

Concepts in sputtering
Base pressure: the pressure in the SP chamber before

it is filled by the gas for sputtering process. The better

vacuum (less pressure), more quality of the sputtering
film is possible.
Gas pressure: Pressure of the gas filling in the SP
chamber for sputtering. If the pressure is too low, the
sputter is weak and difficult to occur, but if the gas
pressure is too high, sputter becomes over, deposition is
too quick and quality of the film will be less.

Physics of sputtering deposition

Sputtering gas should be an inert one; otherwise,

compound will be created if the active gas is used;

For efficient momentum transfer, the atomic weight of the
sputtering gas should be close to the atomic weight of the
target;
Ar, Kr or Xe are preferred for heavy elements whereas Ne
or He are used for light elements;
Ion/electron mixture at low pressure causes negative
plasma that can be visually observed.

Physics of sputtering deposition

The higher base vacuum in the chamber, mean free path

of the ion is longer, the better sputtering process is

expectable;
Sputtering is sometimes employed for milling or etching
sputter etching;
Of other approaches, a controlled ion beam is used to
bombard the target ion beam sputtering.

Physics of sputtering deposition

To enhance the efficiency of the sputtering, magnets are

placed under the target to trap the charges from the plasma;
The electrons are not free to bombard the substrate to the
same extent as with diode sputtering;
Circuitous path carved by these same electrons when trapped
in the magnetic field, enhances their probability of ionizing a
neutral gas molecule. This increase in available ions
significantly increases the rate at which target material is
eroded and subsequently deposited onto the substrate.

Physics of sputtering deposition

Sputter deposition is a complex function of gas pressure,

sputtering power, distance from the target to the

substrate, rotation of manipulator
These take a long time for calibrating the sputter.

Content
Why sputtering?
Physics of sputtering deposition
DC and RF Sputtering
Standard procedures in BESTEC Chimera

System at the AML

DC Magnetron Sputtering
If the target is conductive (metallic materials), a DC

voltage applied to the substrate and the target can make

a closed circuit;
Current in this case only flows from substrate (anode) to
the target (cathode);
DC sputtering is only possible for conductive targets;
Sometimes, power is pulsed Pulsed DC sputtering.

RF Magnetron Sputtering
As target is insulator, DC power is not suitable, anode

cathode acts like a capacitor an alternating current

(AC) is able to flow through a capacitor used for
sputtering of insulator target;
Power supplies a high-frequency (radio frequency)
current we have a RF sputtering process;
In order to maximise the power in the target, an
impedance matching network must be used.

MgO target for RF sputtering

Content
Why sputtering?
Physics of sputtering deposition
DC and RF Sputtering
Standard procedures in BESTEC Chimera

System at the AML

BESTEC Chimera deposition system

Electronic cabinet
(MBE)

Electronic cabinet
(SP)

MBE

Preparation

Transfer arm 1

Sputter
Turbo pump
Loadlock
Transfer arm 2

BESTEC Chimera deposition system

Software interface (without active functions)

BESTEC Chimera deposition system

Software interface (active functions)

BESTEC Chimera deposition system

Loadlock (LL): first chamber for loading the substrates

before transferring to deposition. The best vacuum in the LL

is about 210-8 Torr.
Preparation chamber (PR): the second stage for precleaning the substrates and transferring to MBE chamber.
The best vacuum in the PR is about 3.510-9 Torr.
Sputter chamber (SP): sputtering deposition chamber with
8 2-inch sources and 1 4-inch source. The SP chamber can
reach the best vacuum of ~7.010-10 Torr.
MBE chamber: a chamber for epitaxial deposition with 6
effusion cells and 4 cells for e-beam evaporator. The best
vacuum in the MBE chamber can be 3.510-11 Torr

Loadlock chamber (LL)

The best vacuum ~210-8 Torr;

Can load maximum 6 samples;
Lamps system to heat the chamber

(~200oC) for degassing;

Positioning of sample during
transferring by counters in transfer
arms.
Loadlock chamber

Preparation chamber (PR)

The best vacuum ~3.510-9 Torr;
Pre-cleaning the wafer by plasma ion source or

H2 atomic source;
Can heat wafer to ~600oC;
Permanent magnet (~500 Oe) for magnetic field

annealing.

PR chamber view
from the bottom

Permanent magnet

Sputter chamber (SP)

SP chamber view from the top

Sputter sources

Sputter chamber (SP)

The best vacuum ~7.010-10 Torr;
Eight 2-inch sources for DC/PDC sputtering;
One 4-inch source for DC/PDC/RF sputtering
Two gas lines (Ar, Kr) with separated gas

SP manipulator

pipes to each source, flow rate controlled by

MFC;
Heating substrate to maximum 700oC;
Active gas nozzle (N2, O2) to substrate for
active sputtering;
PDC: 1000 W (maximum);
DC: 500 W (maximum);
RF: 600 W (maximum).

Sputter chamber (SP)

min. distance

SP guns cross section

Minimum distance from the substrate to the 4 target: 56.4 mm
Maximum distance: 336.4 mm

Sputter chamber (SP)

The change in the vertical position of the

manipulator may caused different uniformity of

the film;
The height in the software is different from the
position on the ruler (0: the highest pos.,
280mm: the lowest pos.);
Optimum position for sputtering of 2 sources
is 130 mm (in software) the best uniformity
of the film)
The height for 4 source depends on the
target.

Standard procedures for sputtering

Transferring samples from LL to SP chamber;

Preparing the gas
Preparing manipulator position and rotation;
Setting sputter condition and macro (if

needed);
Do sputtering
Finish and transfer back to LL unload
samples

Load samples to LL
Load the samples to the LL;
Evacuate the LL;
Wait for the vacuum (should be ~10-7 Torr range);
Degas the chamber (200oC 30 min.) if required;
Transfer to PR chamber for cleaning or to SP

chamber for deposition;

Do not forget wearing clean suits to avoid the
contamination to the LL.

Transferring routes
MBE
(Epitaxial deposition)

Preparation
(Plasma, hydrogen
cleaning)

Loadlock
Sample

Sputter
(Sputtering deposition)

Transferring from LL to SP

After manipulators are ready, open V2 and

V3 for transferring;
Carefully transport of samples by transfer
arms;
Transfer to SP only when the PR manipulator
is at Process position.

Preparation of SP stage

Make sure SP manipulator shutter is closed and at

valid position before deposition;

Move SP stage to deposition height position (e.g.

130 mm);
Set rotation speed (e.g. 45 rpm);
Open SP manipulator shutter when deposit or

move SP state near the 4 target.

Preparation of gas ambient

Make sure V3 closed;

Close V53 and V32 to protect TMP

P10;
Close V31 and open V37 to clean
the gas lines before sputtering;
Close V37 as the gas lines are
clean enough (pressure at G14 <
1.0e-2 Torr);

Preparation of gas ambient

Keep V53 and V32 closed; open V31;
Set opening position of butterfly V30

(should be less than 60%);

Open source gas valve (e.g. V39 for
source 1); Open gas valve (V35 for
Ar, V36 for Kr);
Set flow rate MFC (<100 sccm);
Gas pressure in SP chamber is
indicated in G4 gauge.

Setting generators

Set generator (DC/PDC/RF) to the sputter source;

Set sputtering power (initial power, final power, ramp);
Switch the generator on;
Open the source shutter start deposition on the wafer

Sputtering and Co-sputtering

Co-sputtering is possible;
Two sources (DC PDC) for 2-inch targets;
Three source (DC PDC RF) for 2-inch targets and 4-inch

target;
Frequency and pulse pause should be taken care for PDC.

Sputtering and Co-sputtering

For RF sputter, matching must be adjusted;

Auto tune can be used to predict rough matching;
Always remember to switch cooling water for sputtering

(W1.Sources for SP sources, W2.Station for SP

manipulator)

Macro for automatic deposition

Using macro for automatically controlled sputter;

Every parameter and manipulation of the SP, PR can be set

and excused by macro.

Macro for automatic deposition

Normal users are not able to create a new macro but can

change parameters in Macro Manager window.

Only Supervisor can create new macros.

Macro for automatic deposition

Lets learn macro!!!

Completion of sputter
Reset all valves and pumps to get

base pressure back (butterfly 100%

opened, MFC to zero);
Wait temperature at the SP
manipulator cool enough if heated
(<90oC);
Stop rotating SP manipulator and
set to transfer;
Set SP.Stage to transfer high; and
LL to transfer low;
Open V2 and V3 then transfer;

Unload samples from LL

Make sure V2 and V3 closed after

transferring;
Vent the LL then unload the samples;
Load new samples (if needed) and close
the LL;
Pump the LL down;
Do not forget wearing clean suits to
avoid the contamination to the LL.

More
This presentation only provides very basic information

on sputtering and working procedures for the

BESTEC Chimera UHV Deposition system;
Anybody wishing to work on the system must undergo
a training and driving test;
Only supervisor/manager has the right to maintain the
system. Please ask supervisor/manager if you want to
install a new target into the chamber.

More

A log book/dairy of the machine will be prepared to

trace the activities in the machine;

Inform supervisor/manager immediately if any error or
violation is found;
Do not hide errors and violation.

Further reading

K. Wasa, M. Kitabatake and H. Adachi, Thin film

materials technology: Sputtering of Compound

Materials, Springer (2004) ISBN: 3-540-21118-7.
G. Wiederrecht (ed.), Handbook of Nanofabrication,
Academic Press (2009), ISBN-10: 0123751764.
http://www.ajaint.com/whatis.htm (many useful
animations)

Contact
Dr. Ngo Duc The (Ryan), Advanced Memory Laboratory,
ECE, National University of Singapore
#05-08, E4A, Faculty of Engineering
Phone :+65-6516 5513
HP
:+65-90710150
E-mail: elendt@nus.edu.sg
Dr. Zheng Yuhong, Advanced Memory Laboratory, ECE,
National University of Singapore
#05-08, E4A, Faculty of Engineering
Phone :+65-6516 5513
HP
:+65-98677817
E-mail: elezheng@nus.edu.sg

Thank you for your patience!