One, sputtering preparation

It is very important to keep the vacuum chamber clean, especially the sputtering system. Any residue formed by lubricating oil and dust and previous coating will collect water vapor and other contaminants, directly affect the degree of vacuum and increase the possibility of film failure. Short circuit or target arcing, rough film formation, and excessive levels of chemical impurities are often caused by unclean sputtering chambers, sputter guns, and targets. In order to maintain the compositional characteristics of the coating, the sputtering gas (argon or oxygen) must be cleaned and dried. After the sputtering chamber is loaded into the substrate, the air needs to be pumped out to the required degree of vacuum for the process. Dark area shields, cavity walls and adjacent surfaces also need to be kept clean. During the cleaning of the vacuum chamber, we recommend using a glass ball blasting method to treat the fouling components and use compressed air to remove the sputter residue from the chamber, and then polish the surface gently with alumina-impregnated sandpaper. After polishing, the paper is cleaned with alcohol, acetone and deionized water. Industrial vacuum cleaners are also recommended for cleaning. Targets produced by the company are packaged in vacuum-sealed plastic bags with built-in moisture-proof agents. When using the target, do not touch the target directly with your hands. Note: When using the target, please wear protective gloves that are clean and will not cause fleece, and absolutely avoid direct contact with the target by hand.

Second, target cleaning

The purpose of target cleaning is to remove any dust or dirt that may be present on the surface of the target. The metal target can be cleaned in four steps. The first step is to clean it with a soft, lint-free cloth soaked in acetone. The second step is similar to the first step with alcohol. The third step is to use deionized water. After washing with deionized water, the target was placed in an oven and dried at 100 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Cleaning of oxides and ceramic targets Cleansing is done with a "lint-free cloth." In the fourth step, after removing the dirt area, the target is washed with high-pressure, low-water argon to remove all the foreign particles that may cause arcing in the sputtering system.

Third, the target installation

The most important consideration in the target installation process is to ensure that a good heat-conducting connection is established between the target and the cooling wall of the sputter gun. If the warping of the stave is serious or the warping of the backplane seriously causes the cracking or bending of the target when it is installed, the heat conduction performance of the back target to the target will be greatly affected, resulting in no heat during the sputtering process. Dissemination can eventually cause target cracking or off-target. To ensure sufficient thermal conductivity, a layer of graphite paper can be placed between the cathode stave and the target. Please be sure to carefully inspect and clarify the flatness of the cooling wall of the sputter gun used, and at the same time ensure that the O-ring is always in position. Because the cleanliness of the cooling water used and the dirt that may be generated during the operation of the equipment are deposited in the cathode cooling water tank, the cathode cooling water tank needs to be inspected and cleaned during the installation of the target to ensure the smooth cooling water circulation and the water inlet and outlet. Will not be blocked. Some cathode designs have a small gap with the anode. Therefore, when installing the target, it is necessary to ensure that there is no contact between the cathode and the anode and there is no conductor. Otherwise, a short circuit may occur.

The operating manual contains information on how to properly install the target. If you do not have this information in the user's manual, try to install it according to the suggestions provided. When tightening the target fixture, first turn a bolt tightly by hand, then tighten the other bolt on the diagonal by hand, and repeat until all the bolts are installed, then tighten with a tool. .

Fourth, short circuit and leak test

After the target is installed, the entire cathode needs to be short-circuited and checked for leak tightness. It is recommended to determine whether there is a short circuit in the cathode by using a resistance meter. After confirming that there is no short circuit in the cathode, a leak check can be performed and water can be passed into the cathode to determine whether there is a leak.

V. Target sputtering

Presputtering the target is recommended to use pure argon for sputtering, which can clean the surface of the target. It is recommended to gradually increase the sputtering power when the target is pre-sputtered, and the power increase rate of the ceramic target is recommended to be 1.5 Wh/cm2. Pre-sputtering of metal targets can be faster than ceramic target blocks, with a reasonable power ramp rate of 1.5 Wh/cm2. During the pre-sputtering, it is necessary to check the starting condition of the target. The pre-sputtering time is generally about 10 minutes. If there is no arcing, continue to increase the sputtering power to the set power. As a rule of thumb, the maximum sputtering power that a metal target can withstand is 25 watts/cm2 and the ceramic target is 10 watts/cm2. Please refer to the user system operation manual for the setting of the vacuum chamber pressure during sputtering. Based on experience, it should generally ensure that the water temperature of the cooling water outlet should be less than 35 degrees Celsius, but the most important thing is to ensure that the cooling water circulation system is effective Working, the removal of heat through the rapid circulation of cooling water is an important guarantee for ensuring continuous sputtering at higher power. For metal targets, it is generally recommended that the cooling water flow is 20 LPM water pressure around 5 GMP; for ceramic targets, it is generally recommended that the water flow is 30 LPM water pressure around 9 GMP.

Six, target maintenance

In order to avoid short circuiting and arcing due to unclean cavities in the sputtering process, it is necessary to remove the sputters deposited in the middle and both sides of the sputtering track step by step, which also helps the user to continuously perform at maximum power density. Sputtering.

VII. Target storage

The supplied targets are packaged in a double vacuum bag. We recommend that users save the target metal or ceramic in a vacuum package. In particular, the attached target needs to be kept under vacuum to avoid the adhesion layer. Oxidation affects the quality of bonding. For packaging of metal targets, we recommend that they be packed in clean plastic bags at a minimum.