[labnetwork] Sputter problem

[Mac Hathaway]

Hi Keith,

Since I see no other better responses yet, I'll give you my two cents 
(not being a sputtering guru, myself):

Sounds like something is getting hot.  Things to check:

Loose RF connections in the chamber, and back to the tuning network.  
Also, check inside your tuning network for loose connections.

Does your forward/reflected power change over the day? 

Another place to look is your RF power supply.


Mac Hathaway
Harvard CNS



Keith Bradshaw wrote:
> We are sputtering TiO2 .
>
> We begin the day with a 250 angstrom rate....each subsequent run is 
> reduced by 10-15% in rate until we are at a 125 angstrom rate.  We are 
> not changing anything.
>
> Next day we begin again at 250.
>
> Tried argon clean between runs, tried 3 hour wait between runs, we are 
> using a load lock and vacuum looks stable , still rate drops on each run.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> cordially,
>
> Keith Bradshaw
> Dallas