An Investigation of Target Poisoning during Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

• Main Author: Güttler, Dominik
• Language: English
• Published: Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf 2010
• Subjects: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/539; ddc:539
• Online Access: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:d120-qucosa-27841; https://hzdr.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A21611; https://hzdr.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A21611/attachment/ATT-0/

Objective of the present work is a broad investigation of the so called target poisoning during magnetron deposition of TiN in an Ar/N2 atmosphere. Investigations include realtime in-situ ion beam analysis of nitrogen incorporation at the Ti sputter target during the deposition process and the analysis of particle uxes towards and from the target by means of energy resolved mass spectrometry. For experiments a planar, circular DC magnetron, equipped with a 2 inch titanium target was installed in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber which was attached to the beam line system of a 5 MV tandem accelerator. A manipulator allows to move the magnetron vertically and thereby the lateral investigation of the target surface. During magnetron operation the inert and reactive gas flow were adjusted using mass flow controllers resulting in an operating pressure of about 0.3 Pa. The argon flow was fixed, whereas the nitrogen flow was varied to realize different states of target poisoning. In a fi?rst step the mass spectrometer was used to verify and measure basic plasma properties e.g. the residual gas composition, the behavior of reactive gas partial pressure, the plasma potential and the dissociation degree of reactive gas molecules. Based on the non-uniform appearance of the magnetron discharge further measurements were performed in order to discuss the role of varying particle fluxes across the target during the poisoning process. Energy and yield of sputtered particles were analyzed laterally resolved, which allows to describe the surface composition of the target. The energy resolving mass spectrometer was placed at substrate position and the target surface was scanned by changing the magnetron position correspondingly. It was found, that the obtained energy distributions (EDF) of sputtered particles are influenced by their origin, showing signi?ficant differences between the center and the erosion zone of the target. These results are interpreted in terms of laterally different states of target poisoning, which results in a variation of the surface binding energy. Consequently the observed energy shift of the EDF indicates the metallic or already poisoned fraction on target surface. Furthermore the EDF's obtained in reactive sputtering mode are broadened. Thus a superposition of two components, which correspond to the metallic and compound fractions of the surface, is assumed. The conclusion of this treatment is an discrete variation of surface binding energy during the transition from metallic to compound target composition. The reactive gas target coverage as derived from the sputtered energy distributions is in reasonable agreement with predictions from model calculations. The target uptake of nitrogen was determined by means of ion beam analysis using the 14N(d, )12C nuclear reaction. Measurements at varying nitrogen gas flow directly demonstrate the poisoning eff?ect. The reactive gas uptake saturates at a maximum nitrogen areal density of about 1.1016 cm-2 which corresponds to the stoichiometric limit of a 3 nm TiN layer. At sufficiently low reactive gas flow a scan across the target surface discloses a pronounced lateral variation of target poisoning, with a lower areal density in the target race track compared to the target center and edge. Again the findings are reproduced by model calculations, which confirm that the balance of reactive gas injection and sputter erosion is shifted towards erosion in the race track. Accomplished computer simulations of the reactive sputtering process are similar to Berg's well known model. Though based on experimental findings the algorithm was extended to an analytical two layer model which includes the adsorption of reactive gas as well as its different kinds of implantation. A distribution of ion current density across the target diameter is introduced, which allows a more detailed characterization of the processes at the surface. Experimental results and computer simulation have shown that at sufficiently low reactive gas flow, metallic and compound fractions may exist together on the target surface, which is in contradiction to previous simulations, where a homogeneous reactive gas coverage is assumed. Based on the results the dominant mechanisms of nitrogen incorporation at different target locations and at varying reactive gas admixture were identified.