Development Of Magnetron Sputtering Targets

Film growth in vacuum environment is an essential technology in the field of both new materials and nanotechnology.Magnetron sputtering coatings have been widely used due to their high sputtering rate,low substrate temperature and high deposition efficiency.Nowadays,they have been developed into one of the most important technologies in the vacuum coating.The magnetic field plays an important role in the sputtering process.When the target is ferromagnetic material,most of the magnetic field will pass through the inside of the ferromagnetic material,which makes the magnetic field on the surface of the target too small to be magnetron splashed.In order to solve this problem,this paper conducts research on nonferromagnetic targets and ferromagnetic targets.For nonferromagnetic targets,the transverse magnetic field distribution of the target plays a vital role in the entire sputtering process.The distribution of the magnetic field's intensity and uniformity directly affects the distribution of plasma and it also has influence on the sputtering stability of the sputtering target,coating uniformity,deposition rate,and target utilization.For strong magnetic targets,the strength of transverse magnetic field of the target is an important parameter for determining target sputtering.In this paper,two high-performance magnetron sputtering targets have been developed,which are of great significance for the independent research and development of new materials in China.First,the initial model of the sputtering target was determined by analyzing the working principle of the magnetron sputtering target.Secondly,the finite element analysis software Comsol5.3a is used to simulate the influence of various structural parameters on the uniformity and intensity of the horizontal magnetic field distribution of the target surface,including the influence of the radius of the inner magnet,the height difference between the inner magnet and the outer magnet,the height difference between shielding cylinder and the target,and the shape of the magnet and so on.All of these finally determine the important parameters of the magnetic field and provides a theoretical basis for the design of the sputtering target.Then,the mechanical design software was used to design the various parts of the sputtering target,and then the parts drawings and assembly drawings of the sputtering target were drawn.After the processing of parts,the assembly of the sputtering target was completed according to the vacuum component assembly standard.In order to verify the effectiveness of the sputtering target,an ultra-high vacuum system was built to test its performance.The targets are designed to work by both DC and RF power supplies.The testing results show that the sputtering rates are stable and in proportion to the RF power.The target utilization rate of nonferromagnetic material target is increased by 6%?10% compared with the international similarity,and the ferromagnetic target can effectively work for 2mm thickness iron material.The performance parameters of the sputtering target developed in this paper completely attain the design standards,and the performance exceeds the international similar sputtering targets.It can be used in the preparation of films.The successful development of this sputtering target has accumulated experience for the production of magnetron sputtering targets in China,and further promoted the research and development of magnetron sputtering technology in China.