Patent ID: 7638019
Filing Date: 2009-12-29
Classification: C23C,H01J,H01L

Abstract:
1. A method of producing composite clusters of semiconductor (or nonconductor) shells having metal cores via a plasma-gas condensation process, comprising: generating glow discharge between a pair of targets formed of at least one kind of semiconductor (or nonconductor) material in a first sputtering chamber; ionizing an inert gas introduced to the first sputtering chamber with the glow discharge; sputtering the semiconductor (or nonconductor) target with the ionized inert gas to generate semiconductor (or nonconductor) vapor in the first sputtering chamber; simultaneously generating glow discharge between a pair of targets formed of at least one kind of metal in a second sputtering chamber, which is located in parallel with the first sputtering chamber and independently operated and separated from the first sputtering chamber by a movable partition located between the first and second sputtering chambers, the partition being extendable up to an inner space of a cluster-growing tube connected centrally between the first and second chambers; ionizing an inert gas introduced to the second chamber with the glow discharge; sputtering metal targets with the ionized inert gas to generate a metal vapor in the second sputtering chamber; carrying both semiconductor (or nonconductor) clusters and metal clusters by inert gas from the first and second sputtering chambers directly into the centrally located cluster-growing tube, wherein the movable partition can be extended up to an inner space of the cluster-growing tube to limit coalescing and mixing of the semiconductor (or nonconductor) clusters and the metal clusters to the inner space of the cluster-growing tube, or partially or fully shortened to allow pre-mixing of the clusters between the chambers; and injecting a cluster beam though a nozzle of the cluster-growing tube to a substrate preset in a high-vacuum deposition chamber, so as to deposit composite clusters on the substrate.