1. What is sputtering deposition?

Sputter deposition is a method of depositing thin films by sputtering material from a “target”. Sputtering is a term used to describe the mechanism in which atoms are ejected from the surface of a material when that surface is stuck by sufficiency energetic ions generated by low-pressure gas plasma, usually an argon plasma. The sputtering takes place at a much lower temperature than evaporation. Sputtered atoms ejected into the gas phase in vapor form are not in their thermodynamic equilibrium state and tend to condense on all surfaces in the vacuum chamber including the substrate.

2. Why are thin films important?

There are many useful applications for thin films. We desire to produce properties in a material that are often conflicting in nature if we use one homogeneous material. Semiconductor devices, for example, are fabricated on a thin layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate. The integrated electronic circuits depend on the confinement of electrical charges, which relies on the interfaces between different materials with different electronic properties. There are also many occasions when the properties demanded an engineering application involve features that are different for the surface than that are for the bulk. Depositing metal films and patterning them on the surface are relatively easy to secure electrical connection between semiconductor devices.

3.How does a sputtering system work?

Generally, in sputtering systems ions are generated and directed at a target, then ions sputter targets atoms. The ejected atoms are transported to the substrate and atoms condense and form a thin film. Below image shows the simple schematic of a sputtering system.

High Vacuum Desk Sputter Coater - DST1-170 - NanoStructured Coatings Co.

The high-vacuum magnetron desk sputter coater model DST1-170 is a compact coating system with the ability to coat metals (oxidizing and non-oxidizing), suitable for short-term deposition periods. DST1-170 is able to deposit uniform thin films with fine-grain sizes in a fast cycle time. The DST1-170, High Vacuum Desk Sputter Coater, is equipped with a magnetron cathode with diameter of 2 inches.

The DST1-170 is configured as a sputter coater suitable for Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) sample preparation. A wide range of oxidizing and non-oxidizing materials could be deposited by DST1-170 such as gold (Au), platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) alloy, silver (Ag), chromium (Cr), tungsten (W), iridium (Ir), etc.

This high vacuum coater offers high quality uniform films with fine grain sizes which are suitable for specimens that require high resolution and high quality characterization such as FE-SEM, EDS/WDS, TEM, and EBSD. The DST1-170 with a 2” magnetron cathode, 80 W switching DC power supply, could be used for research and different thin film applications.

DST1 can be equipped with a water-cooled cathode which make it suitable for long time deposition.

The maximum size of substrates in this model could be 4 inches.

Features

Hardware

High vacuum level with built-in turbo pump 90 l/s (Leybold)
Two stage rotary vane vacuum backing pump (Diaphragm and scroll pump)
Full range vacuum gauge
DC power supply 80 W
Quartz crystal thickness monitor with precision of 1nm and resolution of 1 Å
One 2-inch magnetron cathode
Electronic leak valve for Argon gas
Sample rotation, height and tilt adjustable
Planetary rotating sample holder
Equipped with electronic shutter
Easy-to-change specimen stages (rotation stage as standard)
Two-year warranty
CE standard conformity

Automation

Intuitive touch screen to control the coating process and rapid data input
User friendly software, updatable via network
Controls coating rate to achieve finer grain structures
Semi-fully automatic coating process (optional)
Repeatable, programmable sputtering process in the automatic mode
Manual or automatic Timed and Thickness deposition
Able to record and plot coating parameters graphs
Storing coating recipes for repeatable depositions

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Clean Vacuum

The vacuum chamber is Cylindrical Pyrex. The DST1-170, High Vacuum Desk Sputter Coater, is fitted with an internally mounted 90 l/s turbo molecular pump, backed by a 6m³/h two stage rotary vane pump. It introduces clean vacuum without oil contamination which normally exists with ordinary diffusion pump.

Touch Screen Control of High Vacuum Desk Sputter Coater

DST1-170 is equipped with a 7” colored touch screen and full automatic control using a user-friendly software to control and adjust the deposition process data. The vacuum and coating sequence information can be observed as digital data or curves on the touch screen. The last 300 coatings information is saved on the history page.

Sample Holders Stages

The DST1-170 can be equipped with different sample stage configurations depending on the user requirements. The standard sample stage is rotatable with adjustable height and angle and can be changed easily. The rotary planetary sample stage is a good choice for uniform coating of porous specimens (optional).

Newly Designed Sample Holder

A new 4-inch rotating sample holder is designed for the system to increase the deposition area and the number of coating stubs in a run (customizable for max. 50×1 mm stubs).

Specification

Ultimate vacuum: Less than 8×10^{-6 Torr}
Suitable for deposition of oxidizing and non-oxidizing materials
170 mm OD × 140 mm vacuum chamber
Precise control over the sputtering rate to achieve finer grain structure
Controls the rate of sputtering to achieve finer grain structure
Automatic control of the deposition power independent of pressure
Automatic control of the cathode’s temperature to protect the lifetime of the magnets
Rapid data input through colorful touch screen panel
Real-time plots of coating parameters
Deposition process data transfer to PC by a USB port
Utilities: 220V-110V, 50/60HZ- 1.5kW
Shipping weight: 36kg