CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-169051 filed on Sep. 18, 2019 with the Japan Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a sputtering method and a sputtering apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Sputtering that deposits sputter particles from a target on a substrate has been widely used as a film forming technique. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-249517 discloses a sputtering apparatus that forms a predetermined film by sputtering and includes two targets made of different materials, respectively, and a shutter configured to shield one target while the other target is exposed for sputtering. The shutter is provided close to the targets to prevent the particles from one target from being adhered to the other target (cross-contamination).

Further, in the sputtering apparatus, a pre-sputtering is performed in a state where the target is shielded by the shutter, and then, the shutter is opened (the target is exposed) and a main-sputtering is performed to form a film on a substrate. In the case of having two targets such as Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-249517, the same operation is performed for the other target. Such an operation is repeatedly performed for processing a plurality of substrates.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure is a sputtering method by a sputtering apparatus including a target, and a shutter provided close to the target to be capable of opening/closing the target. The method includes: performing a pre-sputtering by emitting sputter particles from the target in a state where the target is shielded by a shielding portion of the shutter; and after the pre-sputtering, performing a main-sputtering in which sputter particles are emitted from the target to be deposited on a substrate in a state where an opening of the shutter is aligned with the target. When the pre-sputtering and the main-sputtering are repeatedly performed, a shutter position is changed during the pre-sputtering so as to change a position of the shielding portion aligned with the target.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

