Applications of Sputtering Targets;
- Sputtering targets is used for film deposition. The deposition made by sputter targets is a method of depositing thin films by sputtering
that involves eroding material from a "target" source onto a "substrate" such as a silicon wafer.
- Semiconductor sputtering targets is used to etch the target. Sputter etching is chosen in cases where a high degree of etching anisotropy
is needed and selectivity is not a concern.
- Sputter targets is also used for analysis by etching away the target material.
One of the example occurs in secondary ion spectroscopy (SIMS), where the target sample is sputtered at a constant rate. As the target is sputtered,
the concentration and identity of sputtered atoms are measured using mass spectrometry. By helping of the sputtering target, the composition of the
target material can be determined and even extremely low concentrations of impurities are detected.
Sputtering target has also application area in space. Sputtering is one of the forms of space weathering, a process that changes the physical and
chemical properties of airless bodies, such as asteroids and the Moon.
Aluminum nitride is a chemical compound with the formula of AlN.Aluminum nitride has excellent combination of physical, chemical, and mechanical
properties. High-quality films of aluminum nitride have been used in various devices and sensors including the optical and optoelectronic devices. As
far as the optical and optoelectronic applications are concerned, wide band gap (~6.2 eV) along with high-refractive index (~2.0) and low-absorption
coefficient (<10−3) makes AlN a very attractive material for these applications. In addition to this, thermal and chemical stability of AlN films make it
suitable for applications in difficult environment.
Today, AlN films/coatings have been grown by several methods which include pulsed laser deposition, reactive molecular beam epitaxy, vacuum
arc/cathodic arc deposition, DC/RF reactive sputtering, ion beam sputtering, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and miscellaneous
other techniques. Due to simplicity, reproducibility, ease of scaling up, and lower cost, magnetron sputtering is one of the common methods for growing
AlN films for various applications.
Properties of AlN films depend upon the crystal structure, crystal orientation, microstructure, and chemical composition, which in turn depend upon
the deposition conditions such as sputtering power, pulse frequency, duty cycle, growth temperature, nitrogen/argon flow ratio, and sputtering gas
pressure. AlN sputtering targets give good result with the method of reactive DC magnetron sputtering system.
