Patent ID: 6110328
Filing Date: 2000-08-29
Classification: C03C,C23C,G02F,H01B,H01J

Abstract:
A sputtering method using a power processing portion including a first switching circuit connected in series between a negative pole of a sputtering power generating portion and a cathode disposed in a vacuum, and a second switching circuit connected in series between the cathode and a DC power source other than the sputtering power generating portion for supplying a positive potential to the cathode, the method comprising the steps of:controlling a turning-on time and a turning-off time of the first switching circuit so that a negative voltage is intermittently applied in a constant periodic cycle to the cathode;controlling the turning-on time and the turning-off time of the first switching circuit so that a time during which the negative voltage is not applied includes a time during which the voltage is zero volts in a range of from 10 .mu.s to 10 ms, and the zero voltage time is a time required by one arcing from its generation to extinction or longer; andcontrolling a turning-on time of the second switching circuit during the time which the voltage is controlled to be zero volts to include a period of time during which a positive voltage is applied within a range of from 1 .mu.s to 20 .mu.s.