High density plasma deposition and etching apparatus

Background of the invention

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a plasma deposition or etching method and various devices for depositing a thin film on a substrate or removing (etching) a film from a substrate.

Description of relevant technology

etching

Plasma etching involves the use of chemically active atoms or energetic ions to remove material from a susbtrate. It is a key technology in the production of semiconductor integer circuits. However, prior to the use of microwave plasma using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR), conventional plasma etching techniques have made it difficult to meet the requirements dictated by the increase in device package density. Specifically, the requirement for fine pattern etching (anisotropic etching) and the requirements for low damage and high selectivity could hardly be met at the same time.

deposition

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is a widely used process for depositing materials on substrates in many applications. In normal chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the chemical reaction is driven by the temperature of the substrate, which is high in most reactions (> 800 ° C). The high substrate temperature required precludes this method for use in a large number of applications, particularly in microelectronics, display devices and optical coatings. The role of the plasma is to dissociate and activate the chemical gas so that the substrate temperature can be reduced. The extent of dissociation, activation and ionization is proportional to the density of the plasma. It is therefore important to make the plasma as dense as possible.

Sauttern

Sputtering is also a widely used process for depositing materials on substrates in a wide range of applications, such as in the production of hard or decorative coatings and glass coatings. In general, a plasma is generated on the sputtering target material and the sputtering target is negatively charged to a voltage of about 700 V. Plasma ions, generally argon, strike the surface and sputter the material, which is then transported to a substrate as neutral atoms. Reactive gases may be introduced to react chemically with the sputtered atoms on the bulk substrate in a process referred to as reactive sputter deposition. The extent is often important and it is therefore important to make the plasma as dense as possible. The ionization of reactive gases is also important and is assisted by the plasma being near the substrate material. Sputtering is also performed by ions that are accelerated in an ion or plasma gun and are then led to bombard the sputtering target. In this case, a bias on the target is not required. For sputtering insulating materials, a high frequency voltage can be applied to the sputtering target.

Existing procedures

There are currently two widely used plasma deposition and etching processes, namely, the parallel plate reactor and the ECR plasma deposition system.

Parallel plate reactor (diode)

The high frequency diode has been widely used for both deposition and etching. A detailed description can be found in the book by Chapman ("Glow Discharge Processes" John Wiley & Sons 1980). Here, a high frequency of 13.56 MHz is used, capacitively coupled to one electrode, while the other electrode is grounded. The pressure in the system is typically one mtorr to 1 torr and the plasma density is typically 10¹ & sup0; Electrons per cm³. The extent to which both deposition and etching occur depends on the density of the plasma and the density (pressure) of the reactive gas used for etching or in the CVD deposition processes.

During etching, the high pressure required to sustain the release causes a collision between the ions and the background gas. As a result, the paths of the etching ions or atoms are random or undirected, resulting in undercut of the mask. This is called isotropic etching. It is desirable that the etching atoms or ions be aligned so that a straight anisotropic etch can be achieved. At the high pressure used in the high frequency diode discharges, the ions are required to have a high energy (1 keV) to achieve anisotropic etching. However, the high energy of the ions can damage the substrate, the film materials or the photo-layer.

The plasma is sustained by secondary electrons emitted by ions impinging on the cathode. These electrodes are accelerated by the voltage drop across the armor, which is typically 400-1000V. These fast electrons can bombard the susbtrate, causing a high voltage drop.

This high voltage can accelerate the ions, resulting in damage to the substrate or film material. The presence of high-energy electrons, which lead to a high Armierungsspannungsabfall, is undesirable.

Electron cyclotron plasma

The use of microwaves at 2.45 GHz and a magnetic field of 875 gauss to perform the electron cyclotron resonance allowed the generation of high-density plasmas at low pressure. The advantages of this method of plasma etching are described by Suzuki in an article entitled "Microwave Plasma Etching" published in Vacuum 34 No. 10/11 1984. Due to a low gas pressure (0.04-0.4 Pa) and a high plasma density (1.7-7x1011 electrons / cm3), anisotropic etching with a high etch rate is achievable.

Suzuki in US Pat. No. 4,101,411 describes a plasma etching apparatus using ECR. Matsuo, in U.S. Patent No. 4,401,054, describes a plasma deposition apparatus using ECR.

Although this process is desirable over the parallel plate reactor, it is subject to several limitations in many respects. The magnetic field required is very high (1-2 kG), which means that heavy, energy consuming electromagnets must be used. The maximum density is limited either by barriers in certain embodiments or breaking in other embodiments to the value of 1 x 1012 electrons / cm3. The cost of the power supply and the necessary equipment for generating and transmitting the microwaves is high. The uniformity (or width of the plasma profile) is not very good.

In accordance with the present invention, it is an object to employ low frequency whistling waves to produce plasma of greater density than is possible with the methods described above. The physics of whistling wave propagation in plasmas is discussed below.

Pfeifwellen

In a cylindrical geometry, these waves are commonly referred to as spiral waves. The classical spiral wave was first studied by Lehane and Thonemann (Proc. Phys. Soc., 1965, vol. 85, p. 301) and is represented by the following equations:

· E = δB / Δt, · B = uoj, · B = 0

E = j · Bo / eno, Ez = η jz

Where E is the electric field, B is the magnetic field, j is the current density, Bo is the vacuum magnetic field, u is the dielectric constant, e is the charge on an electron, n is the density of the plasma and η is the resistance of the plasma.

Following the derivation of Chen (FF Chen: Helicon Wave Plasma Sources, International Conference on Plasma Physics, Proceedings of the Invited Papers, Kiev, April 1987), one can easily find perturbations in the form B exp (i (m + kz - wt)) and then follows at the η = 0 limit according to the above equations:

²B + α²B = 0

where α = (w / k) (uo eno / Bo) where j = (α / uo) B and w is the angular frequency of the shaft. k is the wavenumber 2π / λ, where λ is the wavelength. These equations can be solved in cylindrical coordinates and lead to the dispersion relation:

m α Jm (T a) + Tka Jm (T a) = 0

where Jm is a Bessel function of the first kind. Jm is a derivative of Jm with respect to this argument, and T is a crosswave number defined by:

T² = α² - k²

It is important to remember that m is the mode number that describes the δ dependence of perturbations in the form B exp (I) m δ + kz - wt).

The two lowest modes meet:

J1 (T a) = 0 (m = 0)

J1 (T a) = Tka / 2α (J 2 - J 0) (m - 1)

This leads to the simple relationship

[(w / wc) (wp 2 / c 2 kz 2)] 2 = 1 + (3.83 / kza) 2

in which

wc = cyclotron angular frequency

wp = plasma frequency.

for the m = 0 mode. The above derivation is important to understand how the antenna is designed to perform the desired mode.

Another important mechanism that must be understood is the attenuation of the wave by the plasma. In Boswell's paper, wave collisions caused by electron collisions can not explain the experimentally observed results. Chen, however, determined that the Landau attenuation is responsible for the large attenuation experimentally observed. Landau attenuation is a collisionless attenuation of waves in a plasma due to the particles in the plasma having a velocity nearly equal to the phase velocity of the wave. These particles travel with the wave and do not experience rapid fluctuation of the electric field and thus can effectively exchange energy with the wave. In the plasma, electrons are both faster and slower than the wave. In a Maxwellian distribution, however, there are more slow electrons than fast ones, and so there are more particles that absorb energy from the wave than vice versa.

The attenuation amount due to Landau damping was calculated by Chen for spiral waves and can be expressed as

Damping amount = Jm (Kz) / Re (Kz) 2 πc² (3.8 / a) 23 e - ²

where = w / kz Vth and Vth is the thermal velocity of the plasma electrons. It is of interest to demonstrate how sensitive the amount of attenuation is to the value k because it is such a steep function. Take, for example, a plasma with a density of 10¹² electrons / cm³, an electron temperature of 3 cV and a driver frequency of 8 MHz. The collision attenuation amount would be 0.065 and the Landau attenuation would be 0.6 for kz = 0.25 cm-1 and 0.00005 for kz = 0.125 cm-1. It is clear that the Landau damping is the important damping mechanism and that it is very dependent on the wavenumber kz

Antenna excitation of whistling waves

There are a number of factors that are important in choosing the right antenna design to excite pipe waves for generating plasma:

a) frequency of arousal

b) Wave mode

c) Efficiency of high frequency power coupling to the plasma.

a) frequency of arousal

The frequency of the waves should be such as to satisfy the following relationship Ωc <w <wc where Ωc is the ion cyclotron frequency e Bo / Mi and wc is the electron cyclotron frequency e Bo / M. These waves are low frequency waves that operate well below the electron cyclotron frequency. Another important consideration for commercial use is the use of an industry standard frequency, such as 13.56 MHz. The limits are then determined by the magnetic field strength and the type of gas used.

b) Wave mode

It is important to understand the mode structure of the electric and magnetic fields of the wave so that an antenna order can best be designed to efficiently couple the RF power into the wave excitation. As discussed above, the two lowest modes are m = 0 and m = 1 mode. In Fig. 1, the mode structure of the electric field of the wave is shown for a m = 0 mode. The figure shows the electric field vector 128 in a circular plane 129 at different positions along the direction of travel of the shaft, it being understood that within one wavelength the electric field is purely radially 128 or azimuthally 130, with the electric field in a plane 131 counterclockwise while in a plane 132 is in a half-length interval clockwise. It can be seen from this physical picture that the best way to excite in this mode is to work with two separate loops at a pitch of one-half wavelength π / kz, where kz is given from the above-described dispersion relationship. FIG. 2 shows the mode structure of the electric field wave for an m = 1 mode. It turns out that there is a natural spiral slope to the electric and magnetic field vectors as the wave propagates in the z-direction and that the electric field vector 133 rotates in the right-hand sense, ie it runs clockwise as it travels along B & sub0 ;. propagated, which is the z-direction. It can be seen from this figure that the best way to excite in this mode is a spiral antenna with a slope of the spiral given by 2π / kz, where kz is given by the dispersion relationship described above.

c) efficiency of the coupling of the high-frequency power to the plasma

The efficiency of plasma production depends on the coupling of the high-frequency energy into the plasma. As previously discussed, the important mechanism for attenuation of high frequency energy is land attenuation. The phase velocity of the whistle wave is given by w / kz, where kz is given by the dispersion relationship and is dependent on the plasma density and the vacuum magnetic field strength. Ideally, the phase velocity of the wave should be near the maximum of the ionization potential of the gas which is to be ionized. From the above dispersion relation for the m = 0 mode we obtain:

n = α B & sub0; kz (T 2 + kz 2) 1/2

where α = B & sub0; kz² for T <kz. In other words, the higher the density, the higher the value of kz. The phase velocity of the wave is w / kz, and thus increasing kz will decrease the energy of the electrons accelerated by the wave. If kz is too high, then the energy of the electrons may fall below the ionization potential. It is accordingly important to control kz in order to be able to increase the density and control the electron temperature.

The first use of whistles to generate dense plasmas has been described by Biswell (in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 26, No. 10, p. 1147). In this publication, the type of antenna used for excitation is shown in Fig. 3a. This antenna design was used by Ovchinnikov and has been previously described. This type of antenna excites the m = 1 mode due to the current flowing in the conductors 134, parallel to the direction of the magnetic field B 0. The frequency of the excitation was 8 MHz. The density profile of the 10 cm plasma showed peaks especially at higher magnetic field strengths required for high densities.

In these publications, the mechanism for the efficient coupling of high frequency energy to the plasma can not be explained. Chen, in a report from the Australian National University, explains the mechanism as land attenuation.

Chen, in a written document presented in August 1988, describes a system employing whistles to produce dense plasmas for use in advanced accelerators. The type of antenna used in this arrangement was similar to that used by Boswell in that it excited the m = 1 mode, and was a type known as the Nagoya Type III antenna. This type of antenna is explained in a written document by Watari et al. (Phys. Fluids 21 (11), Nov. 1978, p. 2076) and is shown in Fig. 3b. The excitation frequency was 30 MHz. T. Shoji used a single-loop antenna to excite the m = 0 mode (Annual Review, Institute of Plasma Physics, 1987, p. 63).

Summary of the invention

The present invention employs whistling waves to produce high density plasma for use in plasma etching, deposition, and sputtering equipment, as claimed in claims 1-5. The efficient generation of plasma depends strongly on the antenna structure used. The invention uses a new antenna design which is designed to excite the m = 0 mode and to control the wave number of the excited wave. This has been found to be important in maximizing density for a given input power and for controlling the electron temperature or average energy of the electrons in the plasma. It has also been found that the m = 0 antenna gives a more uniform plasma than the previous designs and that the spiral pitch of the m = 1 antenna improves the efficiency compared to other antennas. For use in many etch and deposition applications, uniformity of the plasma is important. The present invention uses a magnetic bucket in conjunction with the plasma generator to provide a uniform plasma density over a large circular area. The invention utilizes one or more plasma generators in conjunction with a rectangular magnetic bucket to provide uniform density over a large rectangular area for coating or etching rectangular substrates. The invention uses the expansion of the magnetic field to permit deposition or etching over a wide range. The present invention employs a linear structure for coating or etching large substrates. The invention uses the plasma generator in conjunction with electrostatic gratings as a highly efficient source of high ion current. The invention employs the plasma generator in conjunction with a sputtering target for sputter deposition of materials onto substrates. For a further understanding of the present invention, examples using the m = 1 excitation mode will also be discussed. However, the examples are not embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of electric field vectors of the electromagnetic wave for the m = 0 mode.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the electric field vectors of the electromagnetic wave for the m = 1 mode.

Fig. 3a is a perspective view of the antenna assembly.

Fig. 3b is a schematic diagram showing the high-frequency current flow in an antenna arrangement.

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of operation and high frequency current flow in an antenna configured in accordance with the principles of the present invention for the m = 0 mode.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an antenna reflecting the principle of operation and high frequency current in an embodiment used to excite the m = 1 mode.

6 is a schematic diagram of the basic configuration of a plasma deposition or etching device constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a graph showing the relationship of plasma density to magnetic field strength according to the invention as shown in Fig. 6, using the antenna described in Fig. 7;

Fig. 8 is a graph showing the relationship of the plasma density for separating the loops of the antenna described in Fig. 7;

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention used for plasma deposition or etching over large circular areas, where uniformity requirements are important.

9A is a cross-sectional view taken along section line AA of FIG. 9. FIG.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention for deposition or etching over a large rectangular area, where uniformity is important.

10A is a cross-sectional view along the section line AA of FIG. 10.

11 is a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention for depositing or etching large areas of substrates.

Fig. 12 is a side view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention for providing an ion beam.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a sixth embodiment of the present invention for sputter deposition.

Fig. 14 is a side view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention for sputter deposition over a wide area substrates, where uniformity is important.

Fig. 15 is a side view of a sputter deposition eighth embodiment of the present invention employing a plasma generator in conjunction with a magnetron.

Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a ninth embodiment of the present invention for sputtering deposition.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The first basic structure of the present invention is an antenna assembly as shown in Fig. 4. High frequency current is passed through two round loops 1 and 2 in such a manner that the current runs in a clockwise loop while the current in the second Loop runs counterclockwise. This is achieved by applying a high-frequency voltage between an inner electrode 3 and an outer electrode 4, which is grounded, and by the use of conductors 5 and 6, which connect the loops together. The distance L between the loops is adjusted to match the states in the plasma which are dictated by the dispersion relationship:

[W / Wc × Wp² / C²kz²] ² = 1 + (3.83 / kza) ²

The high frequency voltage is applied from a high frequency power source 7 through a 50 ohm cable 8 to a balance housing 9 which consists of two variable vacuum compensators 10 and 11 tuned so that the load of the antenna is close to 50 ohms to the reflected power minimize.

In Fig. 5, a second arrangement of an antenna is shown. In this arrangement, the high frequency current path is modified such that the current is allowed to flow in two spiral paths 12 and 13.

The basic structure of a plasma deposition or etching apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIG. The plasma generator chamber 14 has a cylindrical shape and is made of a non-conductive material such as quartz or pyrex. The antenna 15 is mounted as shown and may be of the same type as described in FIGS. 4 or 5. An axial magnetic field is provided by the magnetic field coils 16 and 17. The plasma is transported by the magnetic field to a separate process chamber 18, and the shape of the plasma can be controlled by varying the current in the magnetic field coil 19. The substrate to be coated or etched is mounted on a substrate holder 21 which is electrically isolated. Plasma bombarding the substrate 20 causes the substrate 20 to reach a negative residual voltage between 10 and 30 volts. For some films to be formed, it is advantageous that the film is bombarded with ions of greater energy than would be obtained due to the residual stress. In this case, it is necessary to provide high frequency power from a second high frequency source 23 via a second adjustment circuit 24. The substrate holder 21 is a copper block which is cooled or heated via a heating / cooling circuit 22. Gas is injected at two locations 25 and 26. 25 is a stainless steel tube which is connected to the plasma generator chamber 14. 26 is a stainless steel ring having a diameter that is large compared to the size of the openings 27 evenly distributed around the ring. This arrangement is such that a uniform flow of gas is directed toward the substrate 20. The high-frequency voltage is applied to the antenna 15 by means of a balancing circuit 28, which consists of two vacuum capacitors 10, 11, as described in Fig. 4. This matching circuit is required to maximize the power coupled into the plasma and to minimize the power reflected back along the 50 ohm cable 29 to the radio frequency source 30.

Using this basic design, plasmas having a density of up to 1 x 10¹³ / cm³ were produced. In Fig. 7, the plasma density is represented as a function of the magnetic field. In this experiment, the antenna as described in Fig. 4 was used. The mode that was created in this case is the m = 0 mode. The diameter of the plasma generator was 10 cm and the coil spacing was 15 cm. The frequency of the high frequency voltage was 13.56 MHz and was supplied by using a commercially available high frequency source via a balance housing as shown in Fig. 4. The gas used in this experiment was argon and the pressure was 1.5 mtorr. Reflected power was tuned to be less than 1% of the applied power of 2.40 kW.

The importance of the distance between the loops to control the wavenumber k has been demonstrated. FIG. 8 shows the dependence of the plasma density on the distance between the loops for a given RF power, magnetic field and pressure. The pressure was 2 mtorr, the magnetic field was 650 gauss, and the high frequency power was 2.75 kW. In this example, there is an optimal distance between the loops of about 125 mm.

Fig. 9 shows an arrangement in which high uniformity over a wide range is required. The plasma generator chamber 31 has a cylindrical shape and is made of a photoconductive material such as quartz or pyrex. The antenna 32 is mounted as shown and may be of a type as described in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. An axial magnetic field is generated by the magnetic field coils 33 and 34. The plasma is transported through the magnetic field to a magnetic receiving chamber 35.

In a paper by Limpaecher and Mackenzie (R.Limpaecher and KR Mackenzie, Rev. Sci Instrum., 44, 726 (1973), the description is that the use of magnets in a multi-vertex arrangement can provide very uniform plasma parameters in a central zone of the Volume, which is enclosed by the magnets. The arrangement of the magnets around the circumference of a cylinder is a common arrangement used for ion sources and is referred to as a magnetic receiving chamber. It is important to build the magnetic field so that there is a good match between the axial field provided by the coil 34 and the field in the receiving chamber. The plasma from the generator diffuses along the magnetic field lines and expands to fill the chamber. The magnetic receiving chamber 35 is made of stainless steel and may for example have a round or rectangular cross-section. In any case, the dimensions of the chamber are such that they are larger than the diameter of the plasma generator. The magnetic field within the chamber is provided by permanent magnets 36 which are arranged with their poles perpendicular to the surface of the receiving chamber and with alternating north and south poles. In this arrangement, the magnetic field lines 37 follow a multiple vertex pattern, and the field in the central zone is very low. The magnetic field pattern provided by the magnets is represented in the AA view. The substrate 38 to be coated or etched is mounted on a substrate holder 39. The substrate holder is a copper block that is cooled or heated by a heating / cooling circuit 40. Gas is injected at two locations 41 and 42. 43 is a stainless steel pipe which is connected to the plasma generator chamber 31. A stainless steel ring 44 has a diameter that is large compared to the size of the openings 45 evenly disposed about the ring 44. This arrangement is such that a uniform gas flow is directed towards the substrate 38. The high frequency voltage is applied to the antenna 32 by means of a balancing circuit 46 consisting of two vacuum capacitors 10, 11 as described in Fig. 4. This balancing circuit is required to maximize the power coupled into the plasma, and To minimize power reflected back along the 50 ohm cable 47 to the high frequency power source 48.

Fig. 10 shows an arrangement in which high uniformity over large rectangular areas is required, such as for the coating of screens. The plasma generator is of the type described above, and with this arrangement multiple generators can be used depending on the size of the required plasma. In Fig. 10, three plasma generators 49, 50 and 51 are shown. Each plasma generator chamber is cylindrical and made of a non-conductive material such as quartz or pyrex. The antennas 52, 53 and 54 used on each generator are of the type described in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. An axial magnetic field is provided by the magnetic field coils 55, 56, 56, 58, 59 and 60. The plasma is transported by the magnetic field to the rectangular magnetic receiving chamber 61. The plasma diffuses along the field lines and expands to fill the container. The magnetic field within the receiving chamber 61 is provided by permanent magnet 62, which are arranged with their poles perpendicular to the surface of the receiving chamber and with alternating north and south poles. The magnetic field pattern provided by the magnets is represented in the AA view. The substrate 63 to be coated or etched is mounted on a substrate holder 64 which is electrically insulated. Plasma which bombards the substrate causes the substrate to reach a negative residual voltage of between 10 and 30 volts. For some films that are to be formed, or for some etching applications, it is advantageous for the substrate 63 to be bombarded with energetic ions. In this case, it is necessary to apply high frequency power from a second high frequency source to the substrate holder 64 via a second matching circuit. The subtracter 64 is a copper block which is cooled or heated by a heating / cooling circuit 65.

Fig. 11 is another embodiment of the present invention suitable for etching or coating large area substrates. Two plasma generators 66 and 67 are mounted on a common axis at each end of a cylindrical process chamber 68. Each plasma generator is configured as described above, and an antenna as described in FIG. 4 or 5 may be employed. Magnetic field traces 69, 70 and 71 provide a uniform axial magnetic field along the axis of the process chamber 68. The plasma generated in each generator diffuses along the magnetic field lines, and because of the high mobility of the plasma electrons, the density along the length of the Process chamber uniform. The size of the plasma in the process chamber can be controlled or varied by adjusting the magnetic field in the chamber by varying the currents in the magnetic field coils 69, 70 and 71. If the magnetic field in the process chamber is weaker than in the generator, the plasma 72 expands and has a larger diameter in the process chamber than in the generators. The substrates 73 are mounted on a substrate holder and positioned around the periphery of the process chamber.

Fig. 12 is another embodiment according to the present invention. The plasma generator chamber 74 has a cylindrical shape and is made of a non-conductive material such as quartz or pyrex. The antenna 75 is mounted as shown and may be of the type described in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. An axial magnetic field is provided by the magnetic field coils 76 and 77. The plasma is transported through the magnetic field to the magnet receiving chamber 78. It is important to design the magnetic field to be well matched between the axial field provided by the coil 77 and the field in the receiving chamber. The plasma from the generator diffuses along the magnetic field lines and expands to fill the receiving chamber. The magnetic receiving chamber 78 is made of stainless steel and may have a round or rectangular cross-section. In any case, the dimensions of the chamber are such that it is greater than the diameter of the plasma generator. The magnetic field within the chamber is provided by permanent magnets 79 which are aligned with their poles perpendicular to the surface of the receiving chamber with alternating north and south poles. In this arrangement, the magnetic field lines 80 follow a multi-apex pattern, and the field strength in the central zone is very low. A series of electrodes 81, 82 and 83 are used to extract an ion beam from the plasma in the magnetic receiving chamber. Each of the electrodes is electrically isolated by insulators 84, 85 and 86.

Figure 13 is another embodiment of the present invention suitable for sputter deposition on substrates. A plasma generator 87 is mounted on one side of a process chamber 95. The plasma generator is described above and may use an antenna 98 as described in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. Magnetic coils 88 and 89 provide an axial magnetic field in the generator. Magnetic field coils 90 and 91 provide an axial magnetic field in the process chamber 95 which is matched to the coils 88 and 89. The plasma 93 follows the magnetic field lines from the plasma generator 87 to the sputtering target 92, which may be biased to a negative voltage for sputtering. The plasma is caused to pass to the target 92 by means of the magnetic field coil 99, which cooperates with the coils 90 and 91. Material is sputtered from the target 92 by applying a negative voltage from the voltage source 100 to the target and deposited on the substrates 94. The voltage source 100 may be DC for metallic targets or RF voltage for the electrical targets. An impact plate 96 can be introduced to control the gas flow. In a reactive deposition process, a reactive gas may be introduced through a separate gas injection system through 97.

Figure 14 is another embodiment of the present invention suitable for use with the high frequency plasma generator system of the present invention in conjunction with a sputtering target. The plasma generator 101 and its antenna 102 and its magnetic field coils 105 and 106 are as described, and more than one plasma generator system as described in FIG. 10 may be used. The plasma generator chamber has a cylindrical shape and is made of a non-conductive material such as quartz or pyrex. The antenna may be of the type described in FIG. 4 or in FIG. 5. The plasma is transported along the magnetic field into the magnetic recording process chamber 105, which is made of stainless steel and formed circular or rectangular, as described in Fig. 10. It is important to design the magnetic field so that there is a good match between the axial field provided by the coil 104 and the field in the receiving chamber. In any case, the dimensions of the chamber are such that they are larger than the diameter of the plasma generator. The magnetic field within the receiving chamber is provided by permanent magnets 106 which are aligned with their poles perpendicular to the surface of the receiving chamber with alternating north and south poles. Within the magnetic recording process chamber is a substrate 107 mounted on a substrate holder 108. The plasma fills the chamber substantially uniformly, and other gases, such as a reactive gas, can be introduced at 109 by means of a ring 110. Also located in the chamber is a round or rectangular sputtering target 111. When biased to the target is applied, ions from the plasma in the chamber bombard the target with energy equal to the voltage applied to the target. Sputter material is deposited on the substrate 197 where it can react with the gas introduced from 109 and / or from the plasma generator 112.

FIG. 15 shows another embodiment according to the present invention which is substantially similar to the embodiment of FIG. 14 except that the sputtering target 111 in FIG. 14 is replaced by a magnetron sputtering target 113 in FIG leaves the plasma generator 114, enters the magnetic recording process chamber 15 and fills the chamber. The sputtering target 113 may be round or rectangular and may be oriented horizontally or at an angle. When a bias voltage is applied, the sputtering on the target increases, and the sputtered material is deposited on the substrate 115. All remaining systems in FIG. 15 are labeled as in FIG.

Fig. 16 shows another embodiment according to the present invention. The plasma generator chamber 116 has a cylindrical shape and is made of a non-conductive material such as quartz or pyrex. The antenna 117 is mounted as shown and may be of the type described in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. An axial magnetic field is provided by the magnetic field coils 118, 119, 120 and 121. The plasma 124 enters the process chamber 122 from the plasma generator and travels along the magnetic field to the sputtering target 81, which is biased with a large negative voltage (about 700 V). The plasma diameter is made to conform to that of the target through the control of the magnetic field. The sputtered from the target material is deposited on the substrates 125. A baffle 126 can be used to control the gas pressure in the vicinity of the substrate, and other gases can be introduced near the substrate through the outlet 127. The substrates are mounted on a substrate holder and positioned above the sputtering target. The substrate holder has an opening to allow the plasma to flow along the magnetic field from the plasma generator to the sputtering target.