Sputtering: What is it and how does sputter deposition work?
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- Опубліковано 8 лис 2022
- This animation will help you to understand what sputtering is and how sputter deposition works. If you want to learn more about Korvus and read about the sputtering process in detail, you can view the links below:
⬡ Visit our site: korvustech.com
⬡ Learn more about sputtering: korvustech.com/sputtering
⬡ Contact us: korvustech.com/contact-us
Video Transcript
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Most people are familiar with the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
However, plasma exists as a state apart. A plasma is a gas in which all the atoms have had some or all of their electrons removed, leaving them as positive ions.
These “thin films” are layers of material that range in thickness from single atoms to tens of thousands of them.
The sputtering process starts with placing the substrate in a vacuum chamber filled with inert gas atoms, such as Argon.
A voltage is applied between the chamber and the coating material, so that the coating material receives a negative charge and becomes a “cathode”.
When this voltage is applied, existing free electrons in the sputtering gas experience an electric field and accelerate away from the cathode.
They will then experience high-energy collisions with other neutral atoms in the gas, causing their electrons to be knocked off, turning them into ions.
This process continues until you have a plasma, and the negatively-charged coating material attracts these positive ions, causing them to fly at such high velocity that the coating particles “sputter off” and travel over to the substrate.
The mechanical nature of sputtering avoids the problems you may experience with other deposition methods.
Metals such as Tungsten are difficult to heat because it’s melting points is too high. And materials such as Platinum are too close to their evaporation temperature. Some compounds such as Nickel Oxide can even break up when heated by evaporation techniques.
Sputter systems come in different sizes, depending on the industry application.
At Korvus Technology, we’re the manufacturers of the HEX Series; a bench-top, customizable and modular thin film deposition system, providing support for several techniques, including magnetron sputtering.
So if you’re wondering how the HEX system may be of use to you, then get in touch with us today by filling in our online contact form so we can discuss what you’re looking for and how our system can help.
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For more information on the HEX Series, sign up to our webinars: korvustech.com...
Mind Blowing Technique indeed I am taking a course in Nanotechnology and your video helps
Can you specify where are you taking the course of nanoscience ?
pretty neat! thank you for sharing
Argon is a noble gas so how can it be made into an ion?
Good question. If the energy is high enough, even a stable noble gas can be ionised and its electrons removed from the outer shell creating a sea of positive argon ions and free electrons - this is necessary for our sputtering system to work!
@@korvustechnology Oh I see! Thank you for your reply!
I have a question. When sputtering a certain material on to a substrate, how thick can the material become? For example, can the substrate be resputtered over and over again with say platinum microparticles until the platinum layer becomes 3mm+ thick?
Great question, Kamrul. The thickness of your sputtered layer during a single cycle is only limited by the amount of material you are able to fit onto your sputtering cathode (or "source"). A typical maximum thickness would be in the region of 10 microns per sputtering source. So in theory, you could make layers as thick as you wanted as long as you kept replacing your material and ran multiple sputtering cycles, but "thin-films" typically range from a few nanometres to a few microns.
@@korvustechnology Thanks for the answer.
I am curious if a system like this could be used with something like Bismuth?
Hi Ralph, bismuth on its own has a high resistivity and low melting point ~ 410°C so sputtering is not ideal. However, it is commonly used for bismuth alloys such as bismuth oxide and fluoride. Hope this helps!
@@korvustechnology Why is Bismuth not ideal? What is the significance of it's high resistivity and low melting point to Sputtering? But could you use it to sputter onto a substrate? What problems would you encounter? what would be the best deposition technique for Bismuth?
I was just thinking to build my self one or just buy it from Amazon, but then i realized i am just dreaming......
If you dreaming, I can create it. ⚡🤟🏼