Modeling, Model Reduction, and Control of Plasma-Assisted Deposition Systems

SC Solutions, under contract to DARPA (via a NASA contract), developed techniques and tools for modeling and control of RF diode sputter deposition process for the production of Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) thin films. In collaboration with NVE of Eden Prairie, MN, University of Virginia, and University of Colorado, multi-scale modeling tools were developed for optimization and control of the sputter process. Experiments were designed and implemented to calibrate and validate the multi-scale model. The effort resulted in the implementation of an end-point controller for the sputter chamber that reduced wafer-to-wafer variability by more than half.