Composite Sputtering Target Structures

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A target structure is provided for use in a magnetically enhanced diode sputter coating source having a sputtering target which at end-of-life has an eroded surface with a known shape.

The sputtering target has a non-sputtered profiled back surface conforming substantially in shape to the eroded surface at end-of-life.

A backing plate is bonded to the sputtering target which has a bonding surface complementary to the non-sputtered back surface of the sputtering target and is designed to mate therewith.

A method is provided for fabricating the target structure and bonding the sputtering target to the backing plate by isostatic pressing. Read More

Superhard Thin Film Coatings

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As a result of increased requirements for abrasion resistant and protective thin film coatings, the hardness of thin film coatings has been steadily increasing over the past decade, due primarily to new materials, improved deposition processes and use of nanostructures and nanocomposites. Because it would not be possible to address all these materials, we will briefly describe the following broad categories, with emphasis on nanostructured thin films:

Binary thin films, including transition metal based materials, chromium-based materials, boron-based materials, carbon and diamond-based materials, tungsten and molybdenum based materials.
Ternary thin film materials
Quaternary and higher component thin film materials
Nanostructured materials
Wear resistant thin films are deposited by a wide variety of processes, but most often by physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques because they can be scaled up to industrial sizes and quantities. Read More

Electron Beam Gun Crucibles & Thin Film Deposition

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Electron beam evaporation is a method of thin film deposition involving the use of an electron beam source, or electron beam gun (EB gun).

Both names are commonly used, but the actual device consists of a heated cathode emitting a high flux of electrons which are accelerated by high voltage and focussed into a water cooled hearth by a magnetic system.

The material to be evaporated (the evaporant) is placed in a crucible within the hearth where it is heated to vaporization which then deposits on the substrate to form the required thin film.

The electron beam evaporation technique enables very high temperatures to be obtained, allowing fast deposition rates and a wide range of materials to be evaporated.

The technique is controllable, repeatable and compatible with the use of an ion source to enhance the resultant thin film performance characteristics.

Thin Film Deposition

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Thin film deposition processes play a critical role in the production of high-density, high-performance microelectronic products.

Considerable progress has been achieved in the development of deposition processes — and in the development of the reactor systems in which they are carried out.

This report discusses the technology trends, products, applications, and suppliers of materials and equipment.

It also gives insights to suppliers for future user needs and should assist them in long range planning, new product development and product improvement.

This report compares some of the issues impacting users of different deposition tools, including: APCVD (SACVD), LPCVD, PECVD, HDPCVD, ALCVD, PVD, ALD. Read More

Thin Film Deposition Materials

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Thin film material are widely used in various industries for one or more applications. They are used in the encapsulation of photovoltaic solar cell, semiconductor and electrical industry for miniaturization of circuit boards. Their major application is in photovoltaic solar cells, which accounts for a majority of their usage, followed by the MEMS, electrical, semiconductor, and optical coating industry.

The thin film material market has a significant number of small as well as few big manufacturers. The companies in thin film material market are segmented according to the technology used by them. In the thin film material market, the companies are sometimes restricted to specific technology because of their geographical presence. For instance First Solar (U.S.) has a market share of around 90% in CdTe technology and it has majority of market share only in North America as the usage of cadmium in Europe is highly regulated. Hanergy has one third of the market share of CIS/CIGS technology and a majority of its share is in the Asia-Pacific and European market.

The thin film material market has no specific set of raw material or ingredients. Every thin film is unique and the manufacturers use their own set of raw material and ingredients to manufacture these material. The industry also lacks the need for bulk suppliers. The raw material that are used in bulk are rare material and chemicals such as cadmium, indium, telluride, and certain common metals such as copper. These material are not difficult to source, unless there is some crisis or regulatory problems that prohibit their usage beyond a certain value. Read More

Thin Film Coating – Atomic Layer Deposition Method

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High quality thin films with excellent chemical and structural purity, uniformity, and conformality can be manufactured using the ALD method, which involves gas-solid chemical adsorption reactions over the surface. These reactions are self-controlled and self-limiting, resulting in film growth by consecutive atomic layers.

A wide choice of materials can be deposited, including oxides, nitrides, fluorides, sulphides, pure metals (even noble ones), polymers, and graded, mixed or doped layers. Various multi-layered nanolaminates can be deposited with the option of customizing the properties of the individual layers on the molecular level.

The ALD technique not only coats silicon wafers but also 3D objects, powder, porous, and high aspect ratio (HAR) samples. Since the film grows by sequential atomic layers, chemical composition and thickness of the film can be precisely controlled. The ALD process is repeatable and various materials can be deposited at low temperatures, allowing use of also sensitive substrates such as plastics or papers.

High Purity Thin Films – Ion Beam Sputter Deposition

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Ion beam sputter deposition is a process that is employed in a wide range of applications where high quality, high performance layer materials and precision film control are of great importance.

However, this process has certain difficulties – for instance, when an ion beam is used to sputter a target material, it is difficult to control the beam shape and collimation so as to prevent any energetic ions following trajectories whereby they could sputter other materials other than the intended target material, such as surrounding fixtures and furniture.

This may possibly contaminate the depositing film with impurities. The impact of this on the performance of the deposited film will depend on the levels of impurities, on the specific application targeted, and on the nature of the impurities.

Effective Thin Film Coating Basic Principles

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There are two principal approaches to achieve this effect, namely Subtractive, or the Etch Back process; and Additive, or the Lift Off process.

Subtractive, or the Etch Back process involves the coating of the entire surface, followed by the removal of select portions to form the desired pattern.

Some sort of physical masking agent is normally used in the pattern generating step, followed by the removal of portions without damaging anything else by means of an appropriate type of etching system.

In the Additive, or Lift Off process, the pattern generating step involving some form of physical masking agent is followed by the coating process resembling the use of a stencil.

The openings in the mask allow only the desired pattern to get applied onto the actual substrate. The excess that ends up on the mask top is removed when the mask is lifted off. This article discusses this Lift Off Thin Film Deposition process.

Thin Film Deposition Vacuum Process

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Thin Film Deposition is a vacuum process that involves the application of coatings of pure materials over the surface of many different objects. The coatings or films typically have a thickness range of microns and angstroms and can be of single material or multiple materials in a layered structure.

This article covers the basic principles involved in controlling the thickness and rate of Thin Film Deposition using quartz crystal monitoring.

Evaporation is a key class of deposition methods involving heating of a solid material within a high vacuum chamber to a temperature at which some vapor pressure is produced. Inside the vacuum chamber, even a relatively low vapor pressure is adequate to raise a vapor cloud, which is then condensed over surfaces in the chamber as a coating or film.

This process, including the common type of chamber designs generally used, is an ideal candidate for successfully controlling the thickness and rate by means of quartz crystals.