Design of a rectangular DC magnetron sputtering system with controllable target erosion patterns

To supply higher deposition rate and better target utilization, simple and cost-effective adjustments that can be applied to the existing DC magnetron sputtering systems are desired. By attaching adequate iron annulus and compensation magnetizations, electron trajectories near the target surface can be confined and the target erosion patterns can then be properly controlled. Hence, the target can be more effectively utilized and the substrate deposition rate can also be indirectly enhanced. Three typical patterns have been selected and promising results have showed that the erosion patterns on the targets can be precisely controlled to the designated reference profiles with resemblances higher than 98.78%, along with the substrate sputtering rate enhancements in the range of 20.87%-23.06%. From such verifications, clearly the refinement concepts for better the system performance can be confirmed.