Sputter deposition is a method of depositing thin films by sputtering a block of source material onto a "substrate". Image File history File links Sputtering. ... Thin-film deposition is any technique for depositing a thin film of material onto a substrate or onto previously deposited layers. ... Thin films are material layers of about 1 µm thickness. ... Sputtering is a physical process whereby atoms in a solid target material are ejected into the gas phase due to bombardment of the material by energetic ions. ...

Sputtered atoms ejected into the gas phase are not in their thermodynamic equilibrium state, and tend to deposit on all surfaces in the vacuum chamber. A substrate (such as a wafer) placed in the chamber will be coated with a thin film. Sputtering usually uses an argon plasma. In thermodynamics, a thermodynamic system is said to be in thermodynamic equilibrium when it is in thermal equilibrium, mechanical equilibrium, and chemical equilibrium. ... See Wafer (cooking) for the original meaning of the word. ... General Name, Symbol, Number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 39. ...

Uses

Sputtering is used extensively in the semiconductor industry to deposit thin films of various materials in integrated circuit processing. Thin antireflection coatings on glass for optical applications are also deposited by sputtering. Because of the low substrate temperatures used, sputtering is an ideal method to deposit contact metals for thin-film transistors. Perhaps the most familiar products of sputtering are low-emissivity coatings on glass, used in double-pane window assemblies. The coating is a multilayer containing silver and metal oxides such as zinc oxide, tin oxide, or titanium dioxide. A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... Integrated circuit showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery Microchips with a transparent window showing the integrated circuit inside. ... Anti-reflective or antireflection (AR) coatings are a type of optical coating applied to lenses and other devices to reduce reflection from optical surfaces. ... Table of Opticks, 1728 Cyclopaedia Optics ( appearance or look in ancient Greek) is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light and the interaction of light with matter. ... A thin film transistor (TFT) is a special kind of field effect transistor made by depositing thin films for the metallic contacts, semiconductor active layer, and dielectric layer. ... The emissivity of a material (usually written ) is the ratio of energy radiated by the material to energy radiated by a black body at the same temperature. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... An oxide is a chemical compound of oxygen with other chemical elements. ... Zinc oxide is a chemical compound with formula ZnO. It is nearly insoluble in water but soluble in acids or alkalis. ... Tin oxide (stannous oxide) is a chemical material in state of powder , it can help in whiting and this is the main jop for it , but since the tin is rejected federally , some are stop using it . ... Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. ...

Comparison with other deposition methods

One important advantage of sputtering as a deposition technique is that the deposited films have the same composition as the source material. The equality of the film and target stoichiometry might be surprising since the sputter yield depends on the atomic weight of the atoms in the target. One might therefore expect one component of an alloy or mixture to sputter faster than the other components, leading to an enrichment of that component in the deposit. However, since only surface atoms can be sputtered, the faster ejection of one element leaves the surface enriched with the others, effectively counteracting the difference in sputter rates. This is in contrast to thermal evaporation techniques, where one component of the source may have a higher vapor pressure, resulting in a deposited film with a different composition than the source. [[Media:[[Media: == Stoichiometry (sometimes called reaction stoichiometry to distinguish it from composition stoichiometry) is the calculation of quantitative (measurable) relationships of the reactants and products in chemical reactions (chemical equations). ... An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

A typical ring-geometry sputter target, here gold showing the cathode made of the material to be deposited, the anode counter-electrode and an outer ring meant to prevent sputtering of the hearth that holds the target.

Sputter deposition also has an advantage over molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) due to its speed. The higher rate of deposition results in lower impurity incorporation because fewer impurities are able to reach the surface of the substrate in the same amount of time. Sputtering methods are consequently able to use process gases with far higher impurity concentrations than the vacuum pressure that MBE methods can tolerate. During sputter deposition the substrate may be bombarded by energetic ions and neutral atoms. Ions can be deflected with a substrate bias and neutral bombardment can be minimized by off-axis sputtering, but only at a cost in deposition rate. Plastic substrates cannot tolerate the bombardment and are usually coated via evaporation. Image File history File links Autarget_mod. ... Image File history File links Autarget_mod. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... Molecular beam epitaxy, abbreviated MBE, is the deposition of one or more pure materials onto a single crystal wafer, one layer of atoms at a time, under ultra-high vacuum, forming a perfect crystal. ...

Types of sputter deposition

Sputtering sources are usually magnetrons that utilize strong electric and magnetic fields to trap electrons close to the surface of the magnetron, which is known as the target. The electrons follow helical paths around the magnetic field lines undergoing more ionizing collisions with gaseous neutrals near the target surface than would otherwise occur. The sputter gas is inert, typically argon. The extra argon ions created as a result of these collisions leads to a higher deposition rate. It also means that the plasma can be sustained at a lower pressure. The sputtered atoms are neutrally charged and so are unaffected by the magnetic trap. Charge build-up on insulating targets can be avoided with the use of RF sputtering where the sign of the anode-cathode bias is varied at a high rate. RF sputtering works well to produce highly insulating oxide films but only with the added expense of RF power supplies and impedance matching networks. Stray magnetic fields leaking from ferromagnetic targets also disturb the sputtering process. Specially designed sputter guns with unusually strong permanent magnets must often be used in compensation. A cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates coherent microwaves. ... General Name, Symbol, Number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 39. ... A plasma lamp, illustrating some of the more complex phenomena of a plasma, including filamentation. ...

A magnetron sputter gun showing the target-mounting surface, the vacuum feedthrough, the power connector and the water lines. This design uses a disc target as opposed to the ring geometry illustrated above.

Image File history File linksMetadata Magnetrongun. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Magnetrongun. ...

Ion-beam sputtering

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a method in which the target is external to the ion source. A source can work without any magnetic field like in a Hot filament ionization gauge . In a Kaufman source ions are generated by collisions with electrons that are confined by a magnetic field as in a magnetron. They are then accelerated by the electric field emanating from a grid toward a target. As the ions leave the source they are neutralized by electrons from a second external filament. IBS has an advantage in that the energy and flux of ions can be controlled independently. Since the flux that strikes the target is composed of neutral atoms, either insulating or conducting targets can be sputtered. IBS has found application in the manufacture of thin-film heads for disk drives. The principal drawback of IBS is the large amount of maintenance required to keep the ion source operating. An ion source is an electro-magnetic device that is used to create charged particles. ... Note: Principals are mostly the same for hot cathode ion sources in particle accelerators to create electrons The Hot filament ionization gauge sometimes called a hot filament and hot cathode , is the most widely used vacuum (negative pressure) measuring device for the region from 10-1 to 10-9 pascals. ... Harold R. Kaufman is an American physicist, noted for his development of ion beam thrusters for NASA during the 1950s and 60s. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ...

Reactive sputtering

In reactive sputtering, the deposited film is formed by chemical reaction between the target material and a gas which is introduced into the vacuum chamber. Oxide and nitride films are often fabricated using reactive sputtering. The composition of the film can be controlled by varying the relative pressures of the inert and reactive gases. Film stoichiometry is an important parameter for optimizing functional properties like the stress in SiNx and the index of refraction of SiOx. The transparent indium tin oxide conductor that is used in optoelectronics and solar cells is made by reactive sputtering. A solar cell, made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. ...

Ion-assisted deposition

In ion-assisted deposition (IAD), the substrate is exposed to a secondary ion beam operating at a lower power than the sputter gun. Usually a Kaufman source like that used in IBS supplies the secondary beam. IAD can be used to deposit carbon in diamond-like form on a substrate. Any carbon atoms landing on the substrate which fail to bond properly in the diamond crystal lattice will be knocked off by the secondary beam. NASA used this technique to experiment with depositing diamond films on turbine blades in the 1980's. IAS is used in other important industrial applications such as creating tetrahedral amorphous carbon surface coatings on hard disk platters and hard transition metal nitride coatings on medical implants. General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States Government, responsible for that nations public space program. ... A Siemens steam turbine with the case opened. ... Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is an umbrella term that refers to 7 forms[1] of amorphous carbon materials that display some of the unique properties of natural diamond. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ...

High-target-utilization sputtering

High-target-utilisation sputtering "HiTUS" is specialized commercial process. More information may be found http://www.plasma-quest.com/hitus-technical-benefits.html The process based upon the remote generation of a high density plasma. The plasma is generated in a side chamber opening into the main process chamber, containing the target and the substrate to be coated. As the plasma is generated remotely, and not from the target itself (as in conventional magnetron sputtering), the ion current to the target is independent of the voltage applied to the target. A plasma lamp, illustrating some of the more complex phenomena of a plasma, including filamentation. ... TARGET (Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System) is an interbank payment system for the real-time processing of cross-border transfers throughout the European Union. ... Look up substrate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates coherent microwaves. ... Multivalent redirects here. ...

Comparison of target utilisation via HiTUS process - 95%

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