A component for a semiconductor processing chamber includes a ceramic body having at least one surface with a first average surface roughness of approximately 8-16 micro-inches. The component further includes a conformal protective layer on at least one surface of the ceramic body, wherein the conformal protective layer is a plasma resistant rare earth oxide film having a substantially uniform thickness of less than 300 m over the at least one surface and having a second average surface roughness of below 10 micro-inches, wherein the second average surface roughness is less than the first average surface roughness.

A method and apparatus for sputter depositing an insulation layer onto a surface of a cavity formed in a substrate and having a high aspect ratio. A target formed from a material to be included in the insulation layer and the substrate are provided in a substantially enclosed chamber defined by a housing. A plasma is ignited within the substantially enclosed chamber and a magnetic field is provided adjacent to a surface of the target to contain the plasma adjacent to the surface of the target. A voltage is rapidly increased to repeatedly establish high-power electric pulses between a cathode and an anode. An average power of the electric pulses is at least 0.1 kW, and can be much greater. An operational parameter of the sputter deposition is controlled to promote sputter depositing of the insulation layer in a transition mode between a metallic mode and a reactive mode.

During reactive sputtering using a silicon-containing target, an inert gas, and a nitrogen-containing reactive gas, a hysteresis curve is drawn by sweeping the flow rate of the reactive gas, and plotting the sputtering voltage or current during the sweep versus the flow rate of the reactive gas. In the step of sputtering in a region corresponding to a range from more than the lower limit of reactive gas flow rate providing the hysteresis to less than the upper limit, the target power, the inert gas flow rate and/or the reactive gas flow rate is increased or decreased continuously or stepwise. The halftone phase shift film including a layer containing transition metal, silicon and nitrogen is improved in in-plane uniformity of optical properties.

A structure including a metal nitride layer is formed on a workpiece by pre-conditioning a chamber that includes a metal target by flowing nitrogen gas and an inert gas at a first flow rate ratio into the chamber and igniting a plasma in the chamber before placing the workpiece in the chamber, evacuating the chamber after the preconditioning, placing the workpiece on a workpiece support in the chamber after the preconditioning, and performing physical vapor deposition of a metal nitride layer on the workpiece in the chamber by flowing nitrogen gas and the inert gas at a second flow rate ratio into the chamber and igniting a plasma in the chamber. The second flow rate ratio is less than the first flow rate ratio.

A method and apparatus for sputter depositing an insulation layer onto a surface of a cavity formed in a substrate and having a high aspect ratio is provided. A target formed at least in part from a material to be included in the insulation layer and the substrate are provided in a substantially enclosed chamber defined by a housing. A plasma is ignited within the substantially enclosed chamber and a magnetic field is provided adjacent to a surface of the target to at least partially contain the plasma adjacent to the surface of the target. A voltage is rapidly increased to repeatedly establish high-power electric pulses between a cathode and an anode. An average power of the electric pulses is at least 0.1 kW, and can optionally be much greater. An operational parameter of the sputter deposition is controlled to promote sputter depositing of the insulation layer in a transition mode between a metallic mode and a reactive mode.

During reactive sputtering using a silicon-containing target, an inert gas, and a nitrogen-containing reactive gas, a hysteresis curve is drawn by sweeping the flow rate of the reactive gas, and plotting the sputtering voltage or current during the sweep versus the flow rate of the reactive gas. In the step of sputtering in a region corresponding to a range from more than the lower limit of reactive gas flow rate providing the hysteresis to less than the upper limit, the target power, the inert gas flow rate and/or the reactive gas flow rate is increased or decreased continuously or stepwise. The halftone phase shift film including a layer containing transition metal, silicon and nitrogen is improved in in-plane uniformity of optical properties.

During reactive sputtering using a silicon-containing target, an inert gas, and a nitrogen-containing reactive gas, a hysteresis curve is drawn by sweeping the flow rate of the reactive gas, and plotting the sputtering voltage or current during the sweep versus the flow rate of the reactive gas. In the step of sputtering in a region corresponding to a range from more than the lower limit of reactive gas flow rate providing the hysteresis to less than the upper limit, the target power, the inert gas flow rate and/or the reactive gas flow rate is increased or decreased continuously or stepwise. The halftone phase shift film including a layer containing transition metal, silicon and nitrogen is improved in in-plane uniformity of optical properties.

A film forming apparatus includes a base material support mechanism configured to rotate a base material supported by the base material support mechanism about a first axis, and a first cathode portion on which a target in a cylindrical shape containing a film forming material is mounted and configured to rotate the target about a second axis, in a chamber. The second axis is disposed at a position skewed with respect to the first axis.

This invention relates to a coating comprising at least one AlTiN-based film deposited by means of a PVD process, wherein the at least one AlTiN-based film deposited is comprising an Al-contentin relation to the Ti-contentin atomic percentage higher than 75%, and wherein the AlTiN-based film exhibits solely a crystallographic cubic phase and internal compressive stresses and this invention relates to a method involving deposition of an AlTiN-based film.

A compound thin film is obtained with a high deposition rate and consistent film quality in reactive sputtering. A thin film is formed by performing voltage monitoring control and gas flow rate monitoring control. The voltage monitoring control is control in which a gas flow rate is adjusted such that the value of a target voltage is brought closer to the value of a desired voltage by monitoring the target voltage in a first cycle time. The gas flow rate monitoring control is control in which the desired voltage for the target voltage is changed such that the value of the gas flow rate is brought closer to the value of a desired gas flow rate by monitoring the gas flow rate in a second cycle time.