Sputtering Target Magnet Guide Rail Inclined Edge Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
In sputtering systems, the edge portions of the sputtering target are more eroded than the central portions due to the reciprocating magnet member, leading to reduced usage efficiency of the target.
Innovation Solution
A sputtering apparatus with a guide rail having an inclined portion for the edge portion and a linear portion for the central portion, combined with an elastic member and a screw line, allows the magnet to move along the guide rail, adjusting the magnetic field intensity to uniformly erode the target.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a reciprocating magnet member is used for sputtering, then the sputtering process can be performed, but the edge portions of the sputtering target are more eroded than the central portion, reducing target usage efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rail is designed with different geometries in different regions: a linear portion under the central area of the target and an inclined portion under the edge areas. This local differentiation allows the magnet member to maintain a constant distance from the central portion while being positioned farther from the edge portions, creating non-uniform magnetic field distribution that compensates for the natural erosion pattern and achieves uniform target erosion across all regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The magnet member is designed to reciprocate along the guide rail during the sputtering process. This dynamic movement allows the magnetic field to be applied sequentially to different regions of the target, with the inclined guide rail portions ensuring that the magnet spends less time or applies less intensity to the edge regions compared to the central region, thereby balancing the erosion rate across the entire target surface.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the magnet member is positioned close to the sputtering target, then the magnetic field intensity is high for better sputtering, but the edge portions are over-eroded
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rail creates local variations in the distance between the magnet member and the target surface. The linear portion maintains a small, constant distance under the central area for high magnetic field intensity, while the inclined portions increase the distance under the edge areas, reducing the magnetic field intensity locally and preventing over-erosion at the edges.
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 approach reduces the erosion difference between the central and edge portions, increasing the overall usage efficiency of the sputtering target from 20-30% to at least 40% by uniformly eroding the target.
Implementation Method 1
a magnet configured to apply a magnetic field to the sputtering target
Implementation Method 2
The elastic may includes a compression coil spring, and when the magnet is positioned in the linear portion, the compression coil spring may be relaxed, and when magnet is positioned in the inclined portion, the compression coil spring may be compressed.
Implementation Method 3
a screw line formed in the first direction in parallel to the guide rail, and a connector connected to the magnet by an elastic, configured to move the magnet in the first direction along the screw line
Data Source
AI summary
A sputtering apparatus for uniformly eroding a sputtering target is disclosed. The sputtering apparatus includes a substrate, a sputtering target having a first surface facing the substrate, a magnet configured to apply a magnetic field to the sputtering target, and facing a second surface of the sputtering target, a guide rail connected to the magnet configured to support and guide the magnet member, wherein a first portion of the guide rail, corresponding to a central portion of the sputtering target, includes a linear portion in a first direction parallel to the second surface of the sputtering target, and wherein a second portion of the guide rail, corresponding to an edge portion of the sputtering target, includes an inclined portion away from the sputtering target in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a screw line formed in the first direction in parallel to the guide rail, and a connector connected to the magnet by an elastic, and configured to move the magnet in the first direction along the screw line.