Scaling of hollow cathode magnetrons for ionized metal physical vapor deposition

Abstract

Ionized metal physical vapor deposition is being increasingly used to deposit diffusion barriers and Cu seed layers into high aspect ratio trenches for microelectronics fabrication. Hollow cathode magnetrons (HCMs) represent a technology capable of depositing metal over large areas at pressures of a few millitorrs. The fundamental mechanisms of these devices are not well understood and so their optimization is difficult. In this article, results from a two-dimensional computational investigation of HCMs are discussed to illuminate scaling issues. The hybrid model incorporates algorithms whereby transport coefficients for use in fluid equations are derived using a kinetic simulation. The goal is to enable the fluid algorithms in the model to be able to more accurately represent low pressure operation. The consequences of power, pressure, and magnitude and orientation of applied magnetic fields were investigated. The authors found that the magnetic field configuration significantly affects the magnitude and distribution of fluxes incident on the substrate. A study of the Cu seed layer deposition process, carried out using a feature scale model, correlates changes in plasma properties with conformal deposition into trenches.