High-permeability magnetic shield for improved process uniformity in nonmagnetized plasma process chambers

摘要

A method and apparatus for forming a layer on a substrate in a process chamber during a plasma deposition process are provided. A plasma is formed in a process chamber, a process gas with precursor gases suitable for depositing the layer are flowed into the process chamber, and a magnetic field having a strength less than about 0.5 gauss is attenuated within the process chamber. Attenuation of such a magnetic field results in an improvement in the degree of process uniformity achieved during the deposition.