Earth Shield Through-Hole Structure for Sputtering Plasma Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In semiconductor manufacturing, plasma sputtering apparatuses face issues where increasing film deposition on the semiconductor substrate leads to plasma leakage between the earth shield and the target, causing contamination from sputtered bonding material atoms.
Innovation Solution
The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus incorporates an earth shield with a plurality of through holes around its circumference, ensuring a ground potential and preventing plasma from entering the gap between the target and the earth shield, with hole diameters larger than the target-opening distance to minimize plasma intrusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the earth shield completely encloses the target, then plasma containment is improved, but plasma leakage between the earth shield and target occurs causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The earth shield is designed with through-holes distributed across its surface, transforming it from a solid enclosing structure to a porous configuration. This allows the earth shield to maintain its plasma containment function while preventing plasma leakage and contamination by allowing controlled plasma passage through the holes rather than around the edges.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous surface of the earth shield is segmented into multiple through-holes, breaking the solid structure into a pattern of openings. This segmentation enables the earth shield to fulfill its enclosing function while creating pathways that prevent plasma from accumulating and leaking between the shield and target.
2Manufacturing precision
If the earth shield encloses the target, then sputtering of bonding material is prevented, but plasma intrusion into the gap between target and earth shield occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The earth shield employs a porous configuration with through-holes that allow plasma to pass through the shield structure itself rather than forcing plasma to intrude into the gap between the target and earth shield. This maintains manufacturing precision by preventing bonding material sputtering while eliminating plasma intrusion harm.
3Reliability
If through holes are added to the earth shield, then plasma leakage is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than adding complex active control systems or multiple components, the solution implements a porous earth shield with through-holes. This simple structural modification achieves improved plasma containment without significantly increasing device complexity, as the through-holes can be directly formed in the earth shield material during manufacturing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively reduces foreign matter contamination during film deposition on the semiconductor substrate, enhancing the film deposition properties by preventing sputtering of the bonding material and minimizing plasma intrusion.
Implementation Method 1
The plasma sputtering apparatus generates plasma between a semiconductor substrate and a target
Implementation Method 2
ions of the noble gas collide with the target. As a result, atoms fly out from the surface of the target to be deposited on the semiconductor substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a stage, a backing plate and an earth shield. The stage is configured to hold a substrate that a film is to be deposited on. The backing plate faces the stage and is configured such that a target containing a film deposition material is to be joined. The earth shield has an opening configured to enclose the target, and a plurality of through holes provided over a whole circumference of a circumferential part of the opening.