Evolution of Aluminum Target Orientation and its Influence

Evolution of Aluminum Target Orientation and its Influence on Deposited Film Uniformity at the Early Life Sputtering Chi-Fung Lo, Al Snowman, Paul Gilman, Rajan Mathew, Darryl Draper, and Charles Fisher Praxair-MRC Orangeburg, New York Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Rs Uniformity vs. Burn-in Sputter Life o Target burn-in requires 12 k. W-hr o Evaluate structural influences on burn-in time Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Experimental o Target composition: Al-0. 5 wt%Cu o Target configuration: 13 inch diameter Endura o Sputtering equipment: Endura 500 o Sputtering parameters: 10. 6 kw, 60 sec. , 300°C, 18 C/15 H Ar, 2. 0 m. T, 10, 000Å o Wafer size: 8 inch diameter o X-ray diffraction measures grain orientation at the erosion zone from 0 kwh to 15 kwh at 3 kwh intervals Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Target Locations of XRD Measurement Middle zone Inner erosion zone Outer erosion zone Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Target Grain Orientation vs. Sputter Life at Outer Erosion Zone Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Target Grain Orientation vs. Sputter Life at Middle Zone Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Target Grain Orientation vs. Sputter Life at Inner Erosion Zone Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Observations o Slight fluctuation of (200), (220) and (311) grain orientations with increasing sputter life. o For (111) grain orientation, rapid decrease at outer erosion zone, while slower decrease at middle and inner erosion zones. o A corresponding improvement in film uniformity with decreasing (111) grain orientation at middle and inner erosion zones. o With the increase of sputtering life up to 15 kwh, the (111) grain orientation was minimized and a better film uniformity was obtained. Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Al-0. 5 Cu vs Surface Finish Processes Higher (111) grain orientation introduced by target machining practice. o By reducing the deformation layer on machined surface, a reduction in (111) is obtained. o Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Rs Uniformity vs. Burn-In Sputter Life New Process o With the reduced deformation layer and the resulting (111) component, a shorter burn-in time can be obtained. Let our materials unlock your future Confidential

Summary o The effect of target machining on thin film deposition for an Al-0. 5 wt%Cu was investigated. o With the aid of X-ray diffraction, the (111) grain orientation, introduced by machining, was identified as the contributor for poor film uniformity at early target life. o With the increase of sputtering life up to 15 k. W-hr, the (111) grain orientation was minimized and a better film uniformity was obtained. o Higher (111) grain orientation of the surface deformed layer introduced by target machining leads to poor film uniformity early in target life. o By reducing deformation layer on machined surface, a shorter burn-in time can be obtained. Let our materials unlock your future Confidential