Methods and apparatus reduce defects in substrates processed in a physical vapor (PVD) chamber. In some embodiments, a method for cleaning a process kit disposed in an inner volume of a process chamber includes positioning a glassy carbon shutter disk on a substrate support of the PVD chamber; energizing an oxygen-containing cleaning gas disposed in the inner volume of the PVD chamber to create a plasma reactive with carbon-based materials; and heating the process kit having a carbon-based material adhered thereto while exposed to the plasma to remove at least a portion of the carbon-based material adhered to the process kit.

A germanium-containing aluminum nitride piezoelectric film and a method for manufacturing an aluminum nitride piezoelectric film in which a germanium-containing aluminum nitride piezoelectric film is grown on a substrate by sputtering.

A method of forming a semiconductor structure includes, in a radio frequency (RF) deposition chamber, depositing a titanium film using physical vapor deposition and forming a graded hard mask film by reactive sputtering the titanium film with nitrogen in the RF deposition chamber. The graded hard mask film is a titanium nitride film with a graded vertical concentration of nitrogen. The method may further include, during deposition of the titanium film and during formation of the graded hard mask film, modulating one or more parameters of the RF deposition chamber, such as modulating an auto capacitance tuner (ACT) current, modulating the RF power, and modulating the pressure of the RF deposition chamber.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to semiconductor processing, and specifically to methods and apparatus for surface modification of substrates. In an embodiment, a substrate modification method is provided. The method includes positioning a substrate within a processing chamber; and depositing a material on a portion of the substrate by a deposition process, wherein the deposition process comprises: thermally heating the substrate to a temperature of less than about 500? C.; delivering a first electromagnetic energy from an electromagnetic energy source to the substrate to modify a first region of the substrate, the first region of the substrate being at or near an upper surface of the substrate; and depositing a first material on the first region while delivering the first electromagnetic energy.

An apparatus and a method for preparing glow discharge sputtering samples for materials microscopic characterization are provided. The apparatus includes a glow discharge sputtering unit, a glow discharge power supply, a gas circuit automatic control unit, a spectrometer, and a computer. The structure of the glow discharge sputtering unit is optimized to be more suitable for sample preparation by simulation. By adding a magnetic field to the glow discharge plasma, uniform sample sputtering is realized within a large size range of the sample surface. The spectrometer monitors multi-element signal in a depth direction of the sample sputtering, so that precise preparation of different layer microstructures is realized. In conjunction with the acquisition of the sample position marks and the precise spatial coordinates (x, y, z) information, the correspondence between the surface space coordinates and the microstructure of the sample is conveniently realized.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a first electrode, a second electrode disposed to face the first electrode, a chamber, a first high-frequency power supply, a direct-current power supply, and a gas supply source. The plasma processing apparatus generates first plasma to form a film of a reaction product on the second electrode by causing the first high-frequency power supply to supply first high-frequency power to the second electrode and causing the gas supply source to supply a first gas into the chamber; and generates second plasma to sputter the film of the reaction product by causing the first high-frequency power supply to supply the first high-frequency power to the second electrode, causing the direct-current power supply to supply direct-current power to the second electrode, and causing the gas supply source to supply a second gas into the chamber.

The present invention relates to a low-resistance material film formation method for forming a film on a semiconductor substrate by using physical vapor deposition (PVD), comprising the steps of: a) forming a barrier layer on a SiO.sub.2 wafer by using low-temperature magnetron sputtering at a pressure of 1-40 Pa; b) modifying, after formation of the barrier layer, the surface of the barrier layer by applying RF bias in an Ar gas atmosphere without applying DC power; and c) layering a low-resistance material on the barrier layer by using magnetron sputtering, wherein the low-resistance material is at least one selected from the group consisting of tungsten (W), ruthenium (Ru), molybdenum (Mo), cobalt (Co) and rhodium (Rh).

A method for preparing a high-hardness anti-bacterial PVD film by deposition of a first anti-bacterial film layer on a workpiece with WTi alloy material, wherein W has high hardness and an extremely strong anti-bacterial property, and the combination of Ti and W can facilitate adhesion during the deposition of the anti-bacterial film, thus enhancing the PVD film effect; a second anti-bacterial film layer deposited on the WTi anti-bacterial film is WTiAg, and the addition of nano-silver in the second anti-bacterial film layer can enhance the anti-bacterial effect, and the high hardness of W can protect nano-silver; because of the anti-bacterial property of W itself, only a small amount of nano-silver needs to be added in the outermost layer, and as the price of W is lower than nano-silver in the market, the technical solution can lower the production cost of anti-bacterial film.

In one implementation, a sputtering showerhead assembly is provided. The sputtering showerhead assembly comprises a faceplate comprising a sputtering surface comprising a target material and a second surface opposing the sputtering surface, wherein a plurality of gas passages extend from the sputtering surface to the second surface. The sputtering showerhead assembly comprises further comprises a backing plate positioned adjacent to the second surface of the faceplate. The backing plate comprises a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface. The sputtering showerhead assembly has a plenum defined by the first surface of the backing plate and the second surface of the faceplate. The sputtering showerhead assembly comprises further comprises one or more magnetrons positioned along the second surface of the backing plate.

Disclosed are method and apparatus for treating a substrate. The apparatus is a dual-function process chamber that may perform both a material process and a thermal process on a substrate. The chamber has an annular radiant source disposed between a processing location and a transportation location of the chamber. Lift pins have length sufficient to maintain the substrate at the processing location while the substrate support is lowered below the radiant source plane to afford radiant heating of the substrate. A method of processing a substrate having apertures formed in a first surface thereof includes depositing material on the first surface in the apertures and reflowing the material by heating a second surface of the substrate opposite the first surface. A second material can then be deposited, filling the apertures partly or completely. Alternately, a cyclical deposition/reflow process may be performed.