Methods for depositing a low resistivity nickel silicide layer used in forming an interconnect and electronic devices formed using the methods are described herein. In one embodiment, a method for depositing a layer includes positioning a substrate on a substrate support in a processing chamber, the processing chamber having a nickel target and a silicon target disposed therein, the substrate facing portions of the nickel target and the silicon target each having an angle of between about 10 degrees and about 50 degrees from the target facing surface of the substrate, flowing a gas into the processing chamber, applying an RF power to the nickel target and concurrently applying a DC power to the silicon target, concurrently sputtering silicon and nickel from the silicon and nickel targets, respectively, and depositing a Ni.sub.xSi.sub.1-x layer on the substrate, where x is between about 0.01 and about 0.99.

A film forming apparatus includes: a processing chamber; a sputtered particle emitter; a substrate mounting unit; and a sputtered particle shielding plate that is provided between the sputtered particle emitter and the substrate mounting unit and has a passage hole that allows the sputtered particles emitted from the sputtered particle emitter to pass through and allows the sputtered particles to be obliquely incident on a substrate mounted on the substrate mounting unit.

Substrate processing chambers with integrated shutter garage are provided herein. In some embodiments, a pre-clean substrate processing chamber may include a chamber body, wherein the chamber body includes a first side configured to be attached to mainframe substrate processing tool, and a second side disposed opposite the first side, a substrate support configured to support a substrate when disposed thereon, a shutter disk garage disposed on the second side of the process chamber, and a shutter disk assembly mechanism comprising a rotatable shaft, and a robot shutter arm coupled to the shaft, wherein the robot shutter arm includes a shutter disk assembly support section configured to support a shutter disk assembly, and wherein the shutter disk assembly mechanism is configured to move the robot shutter arm between a storage position within the shutter garage and a processing position within the process chamber over the substrate support.

A PVD chamber deposits a film with high thickness uniformity. The PVD chamber includes a coil of an electromagnetic that, when energized with direct current power, can modify plasma in an edge portion of the processing region of the PVD chamber. The coil is disposed within the vacuum-containing portion of the PVD chamber and outside a processing region of the PVD chamber.

Provided is a shutter mechanism for opening and closing a substrate-facing surface (30) of a target (3). The shutter mechanism is provided with: a shutter (6) having first and second shutter plates (11A, 11B) having first and second edge parts (30a, 30b), respectively; and first and second rotary support parts (13A, 13B) for supporting the first and second shutter plates (11A, 11B) so as to be able to rotate about first and second rotary shafts (SA, SB) extending in the direction of a line normal to the substrate-facing surface (30) so that the first and second shutter plates (11A, 11B) can move between an open position and a closed position at which the first and second edge parts (30a, 30b) overlap. The first and second rotary shafts (13A, 13B) are disposed so as to be divided toward both sides with an overlap region of the first and second edge parts (30a, 30b) therebetween so that the first and second edge parts (30a, 30b) in the open position thereof extend along sides of the substrate-facing surface (30).

A thin-film-deposition equipment with shielding device, which includes a reaction chamber, a carrier, a shielding device and two optical sensors. The carrier and a portion of the shielding device are disposed within the reaction chamber. The shielding device includes two shield members, and at least one driver interconnecting to drive the two shield members to sway in opposite directions and switch between an open state and a shielding state. Each of the two shield members is disposed with a shield protrusion and a sensing region adjacent to each other. The shield protrusion is for shielding the sensing region from contaminants, thereby the optical sensors can accurately detect locations of the shield members.

A system and a method for detecting abnormality of a thin-film deposition process are provided. In the method, a thin-film is deposited on a substrate in a thin-film deposition chamber by using a target, a dimension of a collimator mounted between the target and the substrate is scanned by using at least one sensor disposed in the thin-film deposition chamber to derive an erosion profile of the target, and abnormality of the thin-film deposition process is detected by analyzing the erosion profile with an analysis model trained with data of a plurality of erosion profiles derived under a plurality of deposition conditions.

The present disclosure provides a thin-film-deposition equipment with shielding device, which includes a reaction chamber, a carrier and a shielding device, wherein a portion of the shielding device and the carrier are disposed within the reaction chamber. The shielding device includes a first-shield member, a second-shield member and a driver. The driver interconnects the first-shield member and the second-shield member, for driving the first-shield member and the second-shield member to move in opposite directions. During a deposition process, the driver swings the shield members away from each other into an open state. During a cleaning process, the driver swings the shield members toward each other into a shielding state for covering the carrier, such that to prevent polluting the carrier during the process of cleaning the thin-film-deposition equipment.

A physical vapor deposition (PVD) system is disclosed. The PVD system includes a pedestal configured to hold a semiconductor wafer, a cover plate configured to hold a target, and a collimator between the pedestal and the cover plate. The collimator includes a plurality of passages configured to pass source material travelling from the cover plate toward the pedestal at an angle less than a threshold angle with respect to a line perpendicular to a surface of the pedestal facing the cover plate, where the collimator is configured to block source material travelling from the cover plate toward the pedestal at an angle greater than the threshold angle, where a first passage of the plurality of passages has a first passage length, where a second passage of the plurality of passages has a second passage length, and where the first passage length is less than the second passage length.

Embodiments of a method and apparatus for co-sputtering multiple target materials are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process chamber including a substrate support to support a substrate; a plurality of cathodes coupled to a carrier and having a corresponding plurality of targets to be sputtered onto the substrate; and a process shield coupled to the carrier and extending between adjacent pairs of the plurality of targets.