What Is a Sputtering Target?

The requirements of sputtering targets are higher than those of the traditional materials industry. General requirements such as size, flatness, purity, various impurity content, density, N / O / C / S, grain size and defect control; higher requirements or special control The requirements include: surface roughness, resistance value, uniformity of grain size, uniformity of composition and structure, foreign matter (oxide) content and size, magnetic permeability, ultra-high density and ultra-fine grains, and so on. Magnetron sputtering coating is a new type of physical vapor deposition coating method, which uses an electron gun system to emit and focus electrons on the material being plated, so that the atoms that are sputtered follow the principle of momentum conversion and detach from the material with higher kinetic energy. Fly toward the substrate to deposit a film. This plated material is called a sputtering target. The sputtering targets are metals, alloys, ceramic compounds, and the like.

Sputtering target

Requirements for sputtering targets

Sputtering targets are mainly used in the electronics and information industries, such as integrated circuits, information storage, liquid crystal displays, laser memories, electronic control devices, etc .; they can also be used in the field of glass coating; they can also be used in wear-resistant materials, high temperature and corrosion resistance , High-end decorative supplies and other industries.

classification

• According to the shape, it can be divided into square target, round target and special-shaped target.

• According to the composition, it can be divided into metal target, alloy target, ceramic compound target

• According to different applications, it is divided into semiconductor-related ceramic targets, recording medium ceramic targets, display ceramic targets, superconducting ceramic targets, and giant magnetoresistive ceramic targets.

• Divided into microelectronic target, magnetic recording target, optical disk target, precious metal target, thin film resistance target, conductive film target, surface modified target, photomask target, decorative target, Electrode target, packaging target, other targets

Principle of magnetron sputtering: Add an orthogonal magnetic field and electric field between the target (cathode) and anode being sputtered, fill the high vacuum chamber with the required inert gas (usually Ar gas), and the permanent magnet is on the target. A magnetic field of 250 to 350 Gauss is formed on the surface of the material, which forms an orthogonal electromagnetic field with the high-voltage electric field. Under the action of an electric field, Ar gas is ionized into positive ions and electrons. A certain negative high voltage is applied to the target. Electrons emitted from the target are affected by the magnetic field and the probability of ionization of the working gas is increased. Under the action of Lorentz force, the Ar ions accelerate to the target surface and bombard the target surface at a high speed, so that the sputtered atoms on the target follow the principle of momentum conversion and fly away from the target surface with higher kinetic energy. The substrate is deposited into a film. Magnetron sputtering is generally divided into two types: tributary sputtering and radio frequency sputtering. The principle of tributary sputtering equipment is simple, and the rate is also fast when sputtering metal. The use of RF sputtering is more extensive. In addition to sputtering conductive materials, non-conductive materials can also be sputtered. At the same time, reactive sputtering is also used to prepare compound materials such as oxides, nitrides, and carbides. If the frequency of the radio frequency is increased, it will become microwave plasma sputtering. Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) type microwave plasma sputtering is commonly used.

Targets for magnetron sputtering coating:

Metal sputtering coating target, alloy sputtering coating target, ceramic sputtering coating target, boride ceramic sputtering target, carbide ceramic sputtering target, fluoride ceramic sputtering target, nitride ceramic sputtering Targets, oxide ceramic targets, selenide ceramic sputtering targets, silicide ceramic sputtering targets, sulfide ceramic sputtering targets, telluride ceramic sputtering targets, other ceramic targets, chromium-doped monoxide Silicon ceramic target (Cr-SiO), indium phosphide target (InP), lead arsenide target (PbAs), indium arsenide target (InAs).

High purity and high density sputtering targets are:

Sputtering target (purity: 99.9% -99.999%)

1. Metal target:

Nickel target, Ni, titanium target, Ti, zinc target, Zn, chromium target, Cr, magnesium target, Mg, niobium target, Nb, tin target, Sn, aluminum target, Al, indium target, In, iron target, Fe, Zirconium aluminum target, ZrAl, titanium aluminum target, TiAl, zirconium target, Zr, aluminum silicon target, AlSi, silicon target, Si, copper target Cu, tantalum target T, a, germanium target, Ge, silver target, Ag, cobalt target , Co, gold target, Au, thorium target, Gd, lanthanum target, La, yttrium target, Y, cerium target, Ce, tungsten target, w, stainless steel target, nickel chromium target, NiCr, scandium target, Hf, molybdenum target, Metal sputtering targets such as Mo, Fe-Ni target, FeNi, tungsten target, and W.

Ceramic target

ITO target, AZO target, magnesium oxide target, iron oxide target, silicon nitride target, silicon carbide target, titanium nitride target, chromium oxide target, zinc oxide target, zinc sulfide target, silicon dioxide target, silicon monoxide target, Ceria target, zirconium dioxide target, niobium pentoxide target, titanium dioxide target, zirconia target, hafnium dioxide target, titanium diboride target, zirconium diboride target, tungsten trioxide target, aluminum oxide Targets: tantalum pentoxide, niobium pentoxide target, magnesium fluoride target, yttrium fluoride target, zinc selenide target, aluminum nitride target, silicon nitride target, boron nitride target, titanium nitride target, silicon carbide target , Lithium niobate target, scandium titanate target, barium titanate target, lanthanum titanate target, nickel oxide target and other ceramic sputtering targets.

3. Alloy target

High-purity alloy sputtering targets such as nickel-chromium alloy target, nickel-vanadium alloy target, aluminum-silicon alloy target, nickel-copper alloy target, titanium aluminum alloy, nickel-vanadium alloy target, boron-iron target, silicon-iron alloy target.