Deposition System With A Rotating Drum

Abstract

A deposition method comprises flowing a first gas into a metallization zone maintained at a first pressure. A second gas flows into a reaction zone maintained at a second pressure. The second pressure is less than the first pressure. A rotating drum includes at least one substrate mounted to a surface of the drum. The surface alternately passes through the metallization zone and passes through the reaction zone. A target is sputtered in the metallization zone to create a film on the at least one substrate. The film on the at least one substrate is reacted in the reaction zone.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A deposition system, comprising:
 a film-deposition zone including a deposition source for film deposition;   a reaction zone including a source for generating reactive species;   a rotatable mount configured to hold at least one substrate and to pass at least a portion of the substrate alternately between said first and second zones so as to deposit a film on at least a portion of the substrate in the first zone and to react the deposited film with the reactive species in the second zone;   wherein said film-deposition zone and reaction zone are configured to be maintained at two different pressures.   
     
     
         22 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said film-deposition zone is maintained at a pressure in a range of about 1×10 −3  to about 1×10 −2  torr. 
     
     
         23 . The deposition system of  claim 22 , wherein said reaction zone is maintained at a pressure less than said pressure of the film-deposition zone. 
     
     
         24 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , further comprising at least an aperture disposed between said film-deposition zone and said mount. 
     
     
         25 . The deposition system of  claim 24 , wherein said aperture is configured to facilitate maintaining said zones at said different pressures. 
     
     
         26 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , further comprising at least one baffle disposed between said film-deposition zone and said reaction zone. 
     
     
         27 . The deposition system of  claim 26 , wherein said at least one baffle is configured to facilitate maintaining said zones at said different pressures. 
     
     
         28 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said film-deposition zone comprises a vestibule in which said deposition source is disposed. 
     
     
         29 . The deposition system of  claim 28 , wherein said vestibule comprises an aperture separating said deposition source from the rotatable mount. 
     
     
         30 . The deposition system of  claim 28 , wherein said vestibule is configured such that one or more walls thereof getter any reactive species penetrating the film-deposition zone from the reaction zone. 
     
     
         31 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said deposition source is configured to be movable relative to said mount to allow adjusting distance of the deposition source relative to the substrate. 
     
     
         32 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , further comprising a plurality of baffles separating the film-deposition zone from the reaction zone. 
     
     
         33 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , further comprising a chamber surrounding said film-deposition zone and said reaction zone. 
     
     
         34 . The deposition system of  claim 33 , further comprising a chamber pump coupled to said chamber and in communication with said film-deposition zone and said reaction zone to pump said zones. 
     
     
         35 . The deposition system of  claim 34 , further comprising at least one differential pump for pumping the reaction zone. 
     
     
         36 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said deposition source comprises a sputtering system. 
     
     
         37 . The deposition system of  claim 36 , wherein said sputtering system comprises a magnetron. 
     
     
         38 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said deposition source is configured to deposit a metal film on said substrate. 
     
     
         39 . The deposition system of  claim 38 , wherein said metal film comprises any of an Al, Si, or Ti film. 
     
     
         40 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said reactive species comprise ions. 
     
     
         41 . The deposition system of  claim 40 , wherein said source for generating reactive ions is configured to generate a plasma. 
     
     
         42 . The deposition system of  claim 41 , wherein said plasma source is an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source. 
     
     
         43 . The deposition system of  claim 41 , wherein said plasma source comprises a source of electrons for injecting electrons into the plasma to maintain plasma neutrality. 
     
     
         44 . The deposition system of  claim 43 , wherein said source of electrons comprises a hollow cathode electron source. 
     
     
         45 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said source for generating reactive species is configured to generate any of oxygen and nitrogen ions. 
     
     
         46 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , further comprising a source of inert gas for introducing an inert gas into said reaction zone. 
     
     
         47 . The deposition system of  claim 36 , wherein the sputtering system comprises an anode, and a metal target and is configured to ionize a gas and to direct the ionized gas to the metal target such that an impact of the gas ions on the target results in sputtering of metal from the target onto said substrate portion. 
     
     
         48 . The deposition system of  claim 47 , wherein the sputtering system comprises a mask interposed between the target and the at least one substrate, and wherein the mask is configured to form a wavefront of a sputtered material parallel to a surface of the at least one substrate. 
     
     
         49 . The deposition system of  claim 21 , wherein said film-deposition zone is pressurized with a first gas at a first pressure and said reaction zone is pressurized with a second gas at a second pressure. 
     
     
         50 . The deposition system of  claim 49 , wherein the distance between said film-deposition zone and said reaction zone along the circumference of the rotatable mount exceeds a mean free path of the second gas at said second pressure.