Biased target deposition

The biased target deposition apparatus described herein uses a low energy ion source. The ions are generated at energies for which the sputter yield is negligible for typical construction materials, so that there is no need for expensive optics to focus the ions on the target. The bias of the target provides the energy for sputtering the target material, in addition to restricting the sputtering to the target. Using the biased target technique, copper films were deposited with an average resistivity of about 2.5 mu Ohm cm at a thickness of 1000 Angstrom. This apparatus is well suited to the deposition of very thin ( 1000 Angstrom) high quality films, such as used in recent magnetoresistive devices. It is also well suited for use in compact and reliable multitarget systems to deposit such films. (C) 2000 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(00)02001-7].