Category: Metal

Sputter Coating Advantages vs. Disadvantages

Sputter coating is the core thin film deposition process in the semiconductor, disk drive, CD and optics industries today.

When a suitable gas (usually argon) and a target material (usually metals) are used to form a glow discharge between the cathode and the anode, the sputtering target is bombarded to cause the atoms to be ejected from the target material——the process is referred to as “sputtering”; the atoms of the sputtering target will be deposited on a substrate, such as a silicon wafer, solar panel or optical device, and this process is known as sputter deposition.

Sputter deposition, as a relatively common physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, has its advantages, such as a wide range of deposition materials and high coating quality.

The table below details the advantages and disadvantages of sputter coating. It is provided by Stanford Advanced Materials and is for informational purposes only.

Advantages Disadvantages
(1) Able to deposit a wide variety of metals, insulators, alloys and composites.

(2) Replication of target composition in the deposited films.

(3) Capable of in-situ cleaning prior to film deposition by reversing the potential on the electrodes .

(4) Better film quality and step coverage than evaporation.

(5) This is partly because adatoms are more  energetic, and film is ‘densified’ by in-situ ion bombardment, and it is easier to heat up to high T than evaporation that is in vacuum.

(6) More reproducible deposition control – same deposition rate for same process parameters (not true for evaporation), so easy film thickness control via time.

(7) Can use large area targets for uniform thickness over large substrates.

(8) Sufficient target material for many depositions.

(9) No x-ray damage.

 (1) Substrate damage due to ion bombardment or UV generated by plasma.

(2) Higher pressures 1 –100 mtorr ( < 10-5 torr in evaporation), more contaminations unless using ultra clean gasses and ultra clean targets.

(3) Deposition rate of some materials quite low.

(4) Some materials (e.g., organics) degrade due to ionic bombardment.

(5) Most of the energy incident on the target becomes heat, which must be removed.

For more information, please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/sputtering-target-materials.html.

An Overview of Copper Sputtering Target

Copper sputtering targets, as part of vacuum coating materials, are widely applied in tool coating, optics coating, solar coating, and etc.  Copper targets can be put together with metallic copper because they are essentially the same–composed by Cu atoms.

Development of Copper

Copper is one of the earliest metals discovered by mankind and the first metal that humans began to use. Copper beads made of natural copper excavated by archaeologists in northern Iraq are supposed to have been more than 10,000 years old. Methods for refining copper from its ores were discovered around 5000BC and a 1000 or so years later it was being used in pottery in North Africa.

In modern industry, copper was widely used in the power and electronics industries. By the 1960s, copper used in these two industries accounted for 28%. By 1997, these two industries were still the main areas of copper consumption, accounting for Than 25%. Later, copper was widely used in electrical, light industry, machinery manufacturing, construction industry, transportation, and other fields. As far as America is concerned, copper is second only to aluminum in the consumption of non-ferrous materials. Copper has excellent performance and is easy to recycle and recycle. At present, there are already relatively complete recycled copper recycling systems in developed countries. For example, the output of recycled copper in the United States accounts for 60% of the total output, and Germany accounts for 80%.

Copper Sputtering Target Property

Copper is a chemical metal element with the symbol Cu. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.

Material Type Copper
Symbol Cu
Color/Appearance Copper, Metallic
Melting Point 1,083 ℃
Density 8.96 g/cm3
Sputter DC
Type of Bond Indium, Elastomer
Comments Adhesion poor. Use interlayer (Cr). Evaporates using any source material.

From Metal Copper to Copper Sputter Target

The copper sputtering target is a kind of copper product made of the metal copper, and it is used in the sputter coating to produce copper thin film. Simply speaking, there are two methods to make copper sputtering target from metal copper.

Casting: melt the raw material of a certain distribution ratio, pour the alloy solution into a mold to form an ingot, and finally machine it to become a sputtering target. The method is smelted and cast in a vacuum.

Powder metallurgy: melt the raw material of a certain distribution ratio, cast it into an ingot and then pulverize it, isostatically press the powder, and then sintering it at a high temperature to finally form a target.

 

Powder metallurgy process
Powder metallurgy process

Basic Requirement of Copper SputterTarget

In general, when measuring whether the sputtering target meets the primary requirements, one would consider the following indicators:

Purity: Purity has a great influence on the performance of the film produced by sputter coating. Taking copper target as an example, the higher the purity is, the better the corrosion resistance and electrical and optical properties of the sputtered film are.

Impurity content: The impurities in the solid of the target material and the oxygen and water vapor in the stoma are the main pollution sources of the deposition film. Targets for different applications have different requirements of their impurity contents.

Density: The density of the target not only affects the sputtering rate but also affects the electrical and optical properties of the film. Thus, in order to reduce pores in the solids of the target and improve the properties of the sputtered film, the target is usually required to have a higher density.

Grain size and grain size distribution: For the same target, the sputtering rate of the fine-grained target is faster than that of the coarse-grained target; and the thickness of the target sputter-deposited film with a smaller difference in grain size (distributed uniformly) is more uniform.

Information provided by SAM Sputter Targets.

History and Development of Copper

Sorry for that we have not updated the “Metal History” column for a long time. For previous posts of this column, please search the keyword “history”. Today, let us unveil the history of copper.

Copper is one of the earliest metals discovered by mankind and the first metal that humans began to use. Copper beads made of natural copper excavated by archaeologists in northern Iraq are supposed to have been more than 10,000 years old. Methods for refining copper from its ores were discovered around 5000BC and a 1000 or so years later it was being used in pottery in North Africa.

Part of the reason for it being used so early is simply that it is relatively easy to shape. However, it is somewhat too soft for many tools and around 5000 years ago it was discovered that when copper is mixed with other metals the resulting alloys are harder than the copper itself. As examples, brass is a mixture of copper and zinc while bronze is a mixture of copper and tin. For many centuries, bronze reigned supreme, being used for plows, tools of all kinds, weapons, armor, and decorative objects.

Mesopotamia, circa 4500 BC

Pure Metal is ineffective as a weapon and tool because of its softness. But early metallurgy experimentation by the Mesopotamians resulted in a solution to this problem: bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was not only harder but also could be treated by forging (shaping and hardening through hammering) and casting (poured and molded as a liquid).

Mesopotamia copper

The ability to extract copper from ore bodies has been well developed. In today’s Armenia, bronze and copper alloy tools, including chisels, razors, harpoons, arrows and spearheads, have been traced back to the third millennium BC. A chemical analysis of bronze from the region indicates that common alloys of the time contained approximately 87 percent copper, 10 to 11 percent tin, and small amounts of iron, nickel, lead, arsenic, and antimony.

Egypt, circa 3500 BC

The use of copper in Egypt developed almost at the same time as Mesopotamia. The copper pipe used to transport water was used in the King Sa’Hu-Re temple in Abusir, 2750 BC. These tubes are made of thin copper plate with a diameter of 2.95 inches (75 mm) and a pipe length of nearly 328 feet (100 m). The Egyptians also used copper and bronze as mirrors, razors, utensils, weights and balances, as well as obelisks and ornaments on temples. According to biblical references, the Egyptians used a large number of bronze pillars on the porch of the Solomon Palace in Jerusalem (circa 9th century BC), which were 6 feet (1.83 meters) in diameter and 25 feet (7.62 meters) high.

Egypt copper

China, circa 2800 BC

By the year 2000 BC, bronzes were produced in large quantities in China. Bronze castings found in Henan and Shaanxi provinces and surrounding areas are considered to be the beginnings of Chinese bronzes, although some copper and bronze artifacts used by the Majiayao have been dated as early as 3000 BC.

China copper

Relevant literature shows the direction of metallurgy in China, and discusses in detail the exact proportions of copper and tin used to produce different alloy grades for casting different items such as cymbals and bells, axes, spears, swords, arrows and mirrors.

Modern Development

In modern industry, copper was widely used in the power and electronics industries. By the 1960s, copper used in these two industries accounted for 28%. By 1997, these two industries were still the main areas of copper consumption, accounting for Than 25%. Later, copper was widely used in electrical, light industry, machinery manufacturing, construction industry, transportation and other fields. As far as America is concerned, copper is second only to aluminum in the consumption of non-ferrous materials. Copper has excellent performance and is easy to recycle and recycle. At present, there are already relatively complete recycled copper recycling systems in developed countries. For example, the output of recycled copper in the United States accounts for 60% of the total output, and Germany accounts for 80%.

Information provided by SAM Sputter Targets.

Related Copper Products: Copper Sputtering Target

Reliable Sputtering Target Manufacturer: Stanford Advanced Materials

Part of SAM

Stanford Advanced Materials (SAM) is a global supplier of a series of pure metals, alloys, ceramics and minerals such as oxides, chlorides, sulfides, oxysalts, etc. SAM Sputter Targets is a division of Stanford Advanced Materials, which specializes in manufacturing vacuum coating materials such as sputtering targets and evaporating pellets.

History of SAM

Stanford Advanced Materials was founded in 1994 and now has a history of 25 years.

SAM initially began supplying high-quality rare earth products to assist our customers in research and development (R&D). To meet the growing demand for rare earth products and other materials, SAM now offers sputtering materials not only for our R&D customers but also for manufacturers in the ceramics, metallurgical and electronics industries.

SAM supplies technology-grade materials to the industry and provides research institutions with high-purity chemicals (up to 99.99999%).

Products of SAM

SAM Sputter Targets is your reliable sputtering target manufacturer. SAM has long been committed to providing customers with high quality and reliable sputtering targets at very competitive prices.

Because we understand the importance of reliable and consistent materials to our customers’ R&D and production needs, we have established a strong relationship with our manufacturers.

By regularly visiting our manufacturers and talking to their management, production and quality control engineers and workers on the production line about the quality we seek, we have created truly effective partnerships. These valuable friendships built over the years have enabled us to deliver consistently high quality products to our global customers.

SAM’s motto is “We not only provide products, we also provide satisfactory service.” We believe that you will find SAM one of your favorite sputtering target suppliers.

What SAM Sells:

Alloy Sputtering Targets

Pure Metal Sputtering Targets

Oxide Ceramic Sputtering Targets

Planar Sputtering Targets

Rotatory Sputtering Targets

Click to see our full Product Categories.

For more information, you can contact us by email at target@samaterials.com or by calling (949) 407-8904. You can also visit our website at www.sputtertargets.net for information about our products, services, pricing and news.

Introduction to the Use and Application of Chromium

Chromium is a hard metal that is resistant to corrosion. It is widely used in metallurgy, chemical, cast iron, fire-resistant, and high-end technology. The specific application ratio is shown in the following figure:

specific application ratio of Chromium

Chromium in the Metallurgical Industry

Chromium is a hard metal, and is often incorporated into steel to make hard and corrosion-resistant alloys. Those alloys are mainly used to refine stainless steel, heat-resistant steel and various electric heating materials. When stainless steel encounters corrosive substances, its surface will form a fine and solid chrome oxide film, which protects the internal metal from corrosion. Some stainless steel can maintain its excellent performance even at high temperature of 800 °C. Chrome steel is a good material for manufacturing machinery, tanks and armored vehicles.

Chromium tank

Chromium in the Chemical Industry

Chromium salt is one of the main varieties of inorganic salts and is the main raw material in the chemical industry. It is widely used in daily life, including electroplating, tanning, printing and dyeing, medicine, fuel, catalyst, oxidant, match and metal corrosion inhibitor.

At the same time, metallic chromium has been listed as one of the most important coating metals–chromium sputtering targets for sputter deposition and chromium evaporation materials for evaporation coating. In most cases, the chrome layer is specifically used as the outermost coating for the parts. When chrome is applied, the thinner the chrome layer, the closer it is to the surface of the metal. The chrome layer on the inner walls of some is only five thousandths of a millimeter thick, but after firing thousands of rounds and bullets, the chrome layer still exists. If the surface is not chrome-plated, the service life of most parts will be greatly shortened due to wear and corrosion, and must be replaced or repaired frequently. Therefore, chrome plating is widely used in many industrial manufacturing.

Chromium for Refractory and Cast Iron

Chromite has a high melting point of 1900 °C – 2050 °C, and it can maintain the volume at high temperature and does not react with any slag, so it is used as a lining for refractory materials, steelmaking furnaces and non-ferrous metal smelting furnaces.

chrome brick
Chrome brick

Chromite can be used to make chrome bricks, chrome-magnesia bricks and other special refractory materials. In addition, chromium is also used in cast iron, such as chromium cast ductile iron, which has high strength, high elongation, high impact value and low hardness.

For more information, please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/.

Smelting Technology of Metal Titanium and Titanium Alloy

In the industrial production of titainum and titanium alloys, the most commonly used techniques are vacuum arc remelting (VAR) and cold hearth melting.

Vacuum Arc Remelting

VAR technology can refine the ingot structure in titanium alloy smelting and improve the purity of the product. The main developments of this technology in recent years are as follows:

  • Fully-automatic VAR re-dissolution process

Advanced computer technologies are applied to VAR processes. For example, automated electronic control box data collection systems can establish excellent smelting modes for specific ingots and alloys. In addition, it can analyze the problems in the smelting process and improve the metal yield.

  • Ingot size enlargement

Large VAR furnaces can smelt titanium ingots with a mass of 30t. At present, the tonnage of vacuum self-consumption arc furnaces for molten titanium is mostly 8-15t.

  • Different power supply methods

The power supply mode adopts a coaxial power supply mode, which can cancel the magnetic field and prevent segregation.

  • Development of numerical simulation technology

Domestic and foreign scholars have made some progress in using the numerical simulation method to study the VAR process. The distribution law of the ingot temperature field has been successfully explored and a model for predicting the solidification microstructure, ingot composition and defect distribution has been established.

Cold hearth Melting

Cold hearth melting uses a plasma (Plasma Arc) or an electron beam (Electron Beam) as a heat source, and can be divided into two processes of plasma cold bed furnace and electron beam cold bed furnace smelting. Electron beam cold-hearth melting has many advantages over vacuum arc melting:

1 Various forms of raw materials such as residual materials, loose titanium sponge and titanium shavings, and economical raw materials can be used;

2 It can remove high-density impurities such as molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W) and tantalum (Ta), low-density impurities such as cyanide and volatile impurities, and is an important technology for pure titanium alloy materials;

3 Improve the yield of metals by producing ingots of various cross-sections.

Information from Stanford Advanced Materials (SAM) Corporation, a global sputtering target manufacturing company.

Pure Metal Sputtering Target: Silver Sputter Target

About Pure Metal Element Silver

Siver is a very malleable metallic chemical element with atomic number 47 that is capable of a high degree of polish, has the highest thermal and electric conductivity of any substance. Silver sputtering target is used as decorative coatings and antibiotic coating in medical devices.

Silver Sputtering Target Specification

Product Silver Sputtering Target
Brand Stanford Advanced Materials
Category Pure Metal Sputtering Target
Material Type Silver
Symbol Ag
Atomic Number 47
Color/Appearance Silver, Metallic
Melting Point 962 °C
Theoretical Density 10.5 g/cc

Available Sputtering Target Dimensions

A comprehensive range of sizes of SAM’s sputtering targets is available to accommodate the requirements of the most popular deposition tools.

  • Disk targets, column targets, step wafer targets, plate targets
  • Rectangular targets, slice targets, step rectangular targets
  • Tubular targets / rotation sputtering target

Available Silver Sputter Target Purity

99.9% (3N), 99.95% (3N5), 99.99% (4N), 99.999% (5N), 99.9995% (5N5), 99.9999% (6N)

Silver Sputtering Target Applications

Physical vapor deposition (PVD) of thin films, laser ablation deposition (PLD), magnetron sputtering for semiconductor, display, LED and photovoltaic devices.target bonding

Each target can be designed to fit customer specified backing plates or cups with either indium/tin or silver epoxy bonding.  Bonding service is available on oxygen free copper backing plate.

Please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.

Related: Silver Sputtering Target Price

Basic Knowledge of Refractory Metal Tantalum

Tantalum Overview

Tantalum is part of the refractory metal group and it has good physical and chemical properties.

Tantalum has a high hardness that can reach 6-6.5. Its melting point is as high as 2996 ° C, only after carbon, tungsten, rhenium and osmium. Tantalum is malleable and can be drawn into a thin foil. Its coefficient of thermal expansion is very small, and it only expands by 6.6 parts per million per degree Celsius. In addition, it has strong toughness and is superior to copper.

 

Tantalum does not react with hydrochloric acid, concentrated nitric acid and “aqua regia” under both cold and hot conditions. And tantalum is only corroded by concentrated sulfuric acid at temperatures above 150 °C. Tantalum can be considered one of the most chemically stable metals at temperatures below 150 °C. It is also highly resistant to corrosion because of the formation of a stable tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) protective layer on its surface.

Tantalum Application

Tantalum can be used to manufacture evaporation vessels, as well as tubes, rectifiers, and electrolytic capacitors. Tantalum forms a stable anodized film in an acidic electrolyte. The electrolytic capacitor made of tantalum has the advantages of large capacity, small size and good reliability. Tantalum capacitors are the most important use of tantalum, around 2/3 of the full use of tantalum. Tantalum is also the material for making electron-emitting tubes and high-power tube parts. Anti-corrosion equipment made by Tantalum is used in the chemical industry such as strong acid, bromine and ammonia producing industries. The metal tantalum can be used as a structural material for the combustion chamber of an aircraft engine. Tantalum is easy to form and can be used as support accessories, heat shields, heaters and heat sinks in high temperature vacuum furnaces. Tantalum can also be used as orthopedic and surgical materials. Tantalum sputtering targets and tantalum evaporation materials are important coating materials in physical vapor deposition.

tantalum capacitor
tantalum capacitor

High Purity Tantalum Preparation

The chemical inertness and relatively low price of tantalum make it a good alternative to platinum.  However, high-purity tantalum is not easy to get because it is always found together with niobium in the mineral groups of tantalite, columbite, and coltan. To get high purity tantalum, here are several methods.

1 Tantalum powder can be obtained by metal thermal reduction (sodium thermal reduction) method. The potassium fluotantalate is reduced with sodium metal under an inert atmosphere: K2TaF7 + 5Na-→Ta+5NaF+2KF. The reaction was carried out in a stainless steel tank, and the reaction was quickly completed when the temperature was heated to 900 °C. The powder prepared by this method has irregular grain shape and fine particle size, and is suitable for making tantalum capacitors.

2 The tantalum powder can also be obtained by molten salt electrolysis: a molten salt of a mixture of potassium fluoroantimonate, potassium fluoride and potassium chloride is used as an electrolyte, and tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) is dissolved therein and electrolyzed at 750 °C. This method can obtain a bismuth powder having a purity of 99.8 to 99.9%.

3 Tantalum can also be obtained by carbothermal reduction of Ta2O5. The reduction is generally carried out in two steps: first, a mixture of a certain ratio of Ta2O5 and carbon is made into tantalum carbide (TaC) at 1800 to 2000 ° C in a hydrogen atmosphere. Then, TaC and Ta2O5 are prepared into a mixture in a certain ratio, and reduced to tantalum in a vacuum.

4 Tantalum can also be obtained by thermal decomposition or hydrogen reduction of chloride. The dense metal crucible can be prepared by vacuum arc, electron beam, plasma beam melting or powder metallurgy.

Please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.

Multiple Applications of Silver

Medical uses of silver

Silver is used in many medical applications due to its antibacterial properties. Most medical devices, such as bandages, wound cleansers, catheters, pacemakers, valves and feeding tubes, that comes into contact with the body contain silver. The hospital also uses silver in air ducts to prevent certain conditions, such as Legionnaires Disease.

Silver for textiles

The thermal and biological properties of silver make it an ideal choice for the commercial textile industry. Silver is used in the anti-microbial properties of high-end sportswear to inhibit the growth of bacteria that can cause odors. Traditionally, silver and gold threads have been woven into clothing.

silver-for-textiles

Silver for food and water

Silver will play an important role in the food industry in the next decade. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the addition of silver to bottled water to help kill bacteria, which opened the door for major municipalities to use white water for clean water at local communities, cities and state levels. Silver tip cutting tools are used for meat processing. It is also used in the processing of milk, cheese making and baking.

Silver superconductor

Another important use of silver is as a superconductor, mainly for large industrial and military electric motors. For a while, silver was used as a strategic reserve for military applications.

Other applications of silver

In addition to the above aspects, silver has many other uses. Silver is used as a wood preservative. Silver sputtering targets and silver evaporating materials are used for vacuum coating. The silver coating plays a key role in the solar power industry. Solar cells coated with silver absorb light and convert it into electricity.

From the perspective of industrial applications, the future of silver is indeed very obvious. Many industrial applications will continue to use silver, and many new applications for silver will continue to grow at a significant rate.

Please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.

Molybdenum Application for Metallurgy

Molybdenum, a silvery-grey metal, does not seem to be as popular as tit anium, aluminum, and platinum. But it is actually a very widely used metal in our life. Today, we will introduce the application of molybdenum in metallurgy.

Steel Metallurgy

The main use of molybdenum for metallurgy is to produce various types of steel and alloys. The addition of molybdenum (mainly in the form of ferromolybdenum, molybdenum oxide, and calcium molybdate) to a range of steels such as structural steel, spring steel, bearing steel, tool steel, stainless steel, and magnetic steel can significantly improve the properties of steel.

Functions

Molybdenum improves the hardenability, toughness and heat strength of steel and prevents temper brittleness. It also improves the corrosion resistance of steel to certain media so that it does not pit. In addition, adding molybdenum into the cast iron enhances the strength and wear resistance of the cast iron.

Nonferrous Metallurgy

In non-ferrous metal alloys, molybdenum can be alloyed with metals such as nickel, cobalt, ruthenium, aluminum, and titanium. These molybdenum alloys are used in the electronics, electrical industry, and machinery industries to make filament and tube parts for light bulbs; they can also be used to make parts such as electromagnetic contacts, gas engine blades, valve protection, and electric furnace resistance.

Functions

Molybdenum can improve the heat resistance and corrosion resistance of non-ferrous alloys and is an important element of nonferrous metallurgy.

Metal Processing

Molybdenum and its alloys can be used in a variety of molds, cores, perforated bars, tool holders and chill plates for metalworking.

Functions

Tools made of molybdenum can improve the processing speed and feed rate of metal processing, reduce the wear and deformation of metal parts, and thus extend the service life of the workpiece. These tools can also be used to machine large-sized parts and improve the accuracy of the workpiece.

Resistance welding electrodes made of molybdenum can be used for electronic brazing and welding of copper, brass and other materials with high thermal conductivity.

The molybdenum tip has a long service life and does not contaminate the workpiece, so it is suitable for processing electronic products.

Molybdenum can be used to make test dies for steel samples, which is very durable.

In addition, some metals require high temperature treatment in hydrogen, inert gas or vacuum, and molybdenum boats are ideal containers for holding such metals.

Molybdenum Boat
Molybdenum Boat

SAM Sputter Targets Corporation is a global evaporation material and sputtering target manufacturing company. Please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.