A sputtering target and/or a coil disposed at a periphery of a plasma-generating region for confining plasma are provided. The target and/or coil has a surface to be eroded having a hydrogen content of 500 μL/cm.sup.2 or less. In dealing with reduction in hydrogen content of the surface of the target and/or coil, a process of producing the target and/or coil, in particular, conditions for heating the surface of the target and/or coil, which is believed to be a cause of hydrogen occlusion, are appropriately regulated. As a result, hydrogen occlusion at the surface of the target can be reduced, and the degree of vacuum during sputtering can be improved. Thus, a target and/or coil is provided that has a uniform and fine structure, makes plasma stable, and allows a film to be formed with excellent uniformity. A method of producing the target and/or the coil is also provided.

A sputtering method includes one or more sputtering processes. Each sputtering process includes in a first pre-sputtering phase, sputtering a target material on a baffle plate configured to shield a substrate; in a second pre-sputtering phase, sputtering a target material compound on the baffle plate; and in a main sputtering phase, sputtering the target material compound on the substrate. The first pre-sputtering phase is used to adjust a sputtering voltage for the main sputtering phase.

A substrate processing device includes a housing connected to ground, a cathode stage that supports a substrate, an anode unit, and a gas feeding unit that feeds gas toward the first plate. The cathode stage is applied with voltage for generating plasma. The anode unit includes a first plate including first through holes and a second plate including second through holes that are larger than the first through holes. The second plate is located between the first plate and the cathode stage. The first plate produces a flow of the gas through the first through holes. The gas that has passed through the first through holes flows through the second through holes into an area between the second plate and the cathode stage. A distance between the first plate and the second plate is 10 mm or greater and 50 mm or less.

An ignition method of a plasma chamber includes steps of: (a) starting softly an ignition voltage to a first voltage, (b) decreasing the magnitude of the ignition voltage to a second voltage after a first ignition time, (c) increasing the magnitude of the ignition voltage to the first voltage after a second ignition time, and (d) repeating the step (b) and the step (c) until the ignition is successful.

A PVD apparatus can be operated in a cleaning mode to remove material from an electrically conductive feature formed on a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate with the electrically conductive feature formed thereon is positioned on a substrate support in a chamber of the PVD apparatus. A shutter is deployed within the chamber to divide the chamber into a first compartment in which the semiconductor substrate and the substrate support are positioned, and a second compartment in which a target of the PVD apparatus is positioned. A first plasma is generated in the first compartment to remove material from the electrically conductive feature and a second plasma is simultaneously generated in the second compartment to clean the target.

A device may include one or more memories and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, to receive design information, wherein the design information identifies desired values for a set of layers of an optical element to be generated during one or more runs; receive or obtain historic information identifying a relationship between a parameter for the one or more runs and an observed value relating to the one or more runs or the optical element; determine layer information for the one or more runs based on the historic information, wherein the layer information identifies run parameters, for the set of layers, to achieve the desired values; and cause the one or more runs to be performed based on the layer information.

Reactive sputter deposition method and system are disclosed, in which a catalyst gas, such as water vapor, is used to increase the overall deposition rate substantially without compromising formation of a dielectric compound layer and its optical transmission. Addition to the sputtering or reactive gas of the catalyst gas can result in an increase of a deposition rate of the dielectric oxide film substantially without increasing an optical absorption of the film.

Some embodiments provide a magnetron sputtering apparatus including a vacuum chamber within which a controlled environment may be established, a target comprising one or more sputterable materials, wherein the target includes a racetrack-shaped sputtering zone that extends longitudinally along a longitudinal axis and comprises a straightaway area sandwiched between a first turnaround area and a second turnaround area, a gas distribution system that supplies a first gas mixture to the first turnaround area and/or the second turnaround area and supplies a second gas mixture to the straightaway area, wherein the first gas mixture reduces a sputtering rate relative to the second gas mixture. In some cases, the first gas mixture includes inert gas having a first atomic weight and the second gas mixture includes inert gas having a second atomic weight, wherein the second atomic weight is heavier than the first atomic weight.

A process for coating a substrate with tantalum nitride by the high-power impulse magnetron sputtering technique, wherein a tantalum target is used and wherein the coating of the substrate is carried out in an atmosphere containing nitrogen, the bias of the target being controlled during the coating by imposing on it the superposition of a continuous bias at a potential between −300 V and −100 V and of a pulsed bias whose pulses have a potential between −1200 V and −400 V.

A target value of magnetic flux density and magnetic flux density actually obtained are made to coincide precisely with each other. An electromagnet control device comprises a current value determining unit for determining, based on a magnetic flux density instruction value, a value of current that is made to flow through a coil. The current value determining unit is constructed to execute a second process for determining, based on a second function, a value of the current, if the magnetic flux density is to be decreased from that in a first magnetization state, and a fourth process for expanding or reducing the second function by use of a first scaling ratio for transforming it to a fourth function, and determining, based on the fourth function obtained after above transformation, a value of the current, if the magnetic flux density is to be decreased from that in a third magnetization state.