公开(公告)号：US20020033329A1

公开(公告)日：2002-03-21

申请号：US09725219

申请日：2000-11-29

Applicant: ProMos Technologies Inc.

Inventor： Hsiao-Che Wu

IPC: C23C014/34

CPC classification number: C23C14/564

Abstract: The present invention provides a method using plasma burn-in for maintaining the cleanness within a vacuum chamber of a physical vapor deposition system, thereby reducing particles falling upon a processed wafer. After depositing metal compound films on a specific number of wafers, there will be too many metal compound films accumulated within the vacuum chamber of the physical vapor deposition system and these accumulated films are apt to fall off. The plasma burn-in methods in prior art can not substantially prevent metal compound nodules located on the side surface of a metal target from peeling and thus a more frequent plasma burn-in is required. The present invention discovered through experiments that when the operation pressure of the plasma for plasma burn-in is elevated above 10 mtorr, the distribution of the plasma is ever changed and able to enter the narrow space between the metal target side surface and an inner wall of the vacuum chamber so as to bombard the nodules on the side surface and to deposit a metal film upon the brittle metal compound film within the vacuum chamber for reducing the number of particles falling upon the wafer. In this way the present invention enhances the effect of plasma burn-in, reduces the frequency of plasma burn-in operations and increases the throughput.

Abstract translation: 本发明提供了一种使用等离子体老化来保持物理气相沉积系统的真空室内的清洁度的方法，从而减少落在加工晶片上的颗粒。 在特定数量的晶片上沉积金属化合物膜之后，在物理气相沉积系统的真空室内积聚太多的金属化合物膜，并且这些积聚的膜易于脱落。 现有技术中的等离子体老化方法基本上不能防止位于金属靶的侧表面上的金属化合物结节脱落，因此需要更频繁的等离子体老化。 通过实验发现本发明，当等离子体老化的等离子体的操作压力升高到10mtorr以上时，等离子体的分布变化，能够进入金属靶侧表面和内壁之间的狭窄空间 以便轰击侧表面上的结节，并将金属膜沉积在真空室内的脆性金属化合物膜上，以减少落在晶片上的颗粒数量。 以这种方式，本发明增强了等离子体老化的效果，降低了等离子体老化操作的频率并提高了产量。