Thermic
plasma
Reactive /
CVD No reactive
PLASMA Sputtering
TECHNIQUES
Ion gun
PVD
Low
density Reactive /
Evaporation No reactive
plasma
Superficial Ion plating
modification
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PVD – Physical Vapor Deposition
PVD processes are atomic deposition processes in which material is vaporized
from a solid or liquid source in the form of atoms or molecules, transported in the
form of a vapor through a vacuum to the substrate where it condenses.
The formed ions in a plasma are accelerated through a substrate, sometimes
with the help of magnetic field.
2
[3]
Use PVD
PVD processes are used to deposit films with thicknesses in the range of a few
nanometers to thousand of nanometers; however they can also be used to form
multilayers coating, gradual composition deposits, very thin deposits and free
standing structures.
3
[1]
Main categories of PVD
Vacuum evaporation Sputter deposition in a plasma
Sputter deposition in a vacuum Ion plating
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Sputtering
Sputtering was first observed by Grove in 1852 and Plücker in 1858 using von
Guericke-type oil-sealed piston vacuum pumps.
Sputter deposition of films was first reported by Wright in 1877.
Edison patented a sputter deposition process for silver on wax photograph
cylinders in 1904.
Sir William Robert Grove
5
[2]
Sputter deposition
Is the deposition of particles vaporized from a surface (target) by the physical
sputtering process.
Sputter deposition can be performed by energetic ion bombardment of a solid
surface (sputtering target) in a vacuum using an ion gun or low pressure
plasma.
6
[4]
Sputtering characteristics
PVD processes are under high vacuum and high temperatures in the range of
150°C – 500°C
The high purity solid material used as target is evaporated through heat or ion
bombarding (metal materials like titanium or aluminum)
PVD could be reactive or non-reactive. In reactive mode the gas is a reactive
gas, like nitrogen, that can form a compound with the metallic gas to deposit it
as a cover.
In non-reactive mode the gas acts as a medium for making coatings with the
same characteristics as the target.
The coating properties (like hardness, structure, chemical resistance,
temperature resistance, etc.) can be controlled precisely.
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Coating structure
The coating formation is made atom by atom. The layer structure can be
controlled by:
• The relation Ts/Tm
• The amount of material detached from the target.
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Coating properties
There are three stages clearly defined to obtain the coating but there´s no rule to
describe the influence of all parameters on the final quality of the film.
Evaporated
Grow of the
Evaporation species
film
transport
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Parameters involved in the coatings
o Distribution of gases
Device o Impurities
o Pressure conditions
o Flow of gases
Operation o The electrons
o Substrate temperature
o Chemical composition
o Preparation
Substrate o Geometry
o Substrate structure
o Mechanical properties
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Working gases
The gases flow feed to the process and their distribution in the chamber define the
stoichiometry, growth rate and structural homogeneity of the coating.
Impurities in the working gases can produce structural defects on the films.
Plasma.
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[8]
Substrate temperature
The substrate temperature favors the growth rate of the film and can increase
the adhesion to the substrate by a thermodynamic mechanism.
The Thornton
structure zone
model
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[Link]
Nucleation and growth
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[Link]
Sputtering yield
1. Sputter yield depends on the mass of the bombarding particle as well as it`s
energy.
2. The sputtering yield is sensitive to the angle of incidence.
3. There is a “threshold energy” below which sputtering does not occur.
4. In a polycrystalline material some crystallographic planes are sputtered faster
than others.
5. Sputtering yields decrease at very high energies.
6. There is no sputtering by electrons.
7. Pressure.
8. Target temperature.
9. Alloy elements.
A disadvantage of the sputtering is the low deposition rate, for this reason there
are variants of this method like magnetron sputtering.
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Magnetron sputtering
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Magnetron sputtering
16
[4]
17
[9]
Confocal Sputtering
Direct Sputtering
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Surface substrate preparation
The surface can not have oxidation or have been burned by overheating.
The surface must be polished and free of scraps.
The surface must be metallic shining. Surface with corrosion can not be
coating.
Materials like shavings, adhesive tape, paint, non-metallic materials, dust,
prints and similar must be removed to obtain a coating.
All the components must be demagnetized.
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Applications
20
[Link]
Applications
[5] Al–Mg–B thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering.
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Applications
[6] Amorphous Zr-based thin films fabricated by magnetron sputtering for potential
application in hydrogen purification.
22
Applications
[7] Reactive magnetron sputtering of Nb-doped TiO2 films: Relationships between
structure, composition and electrical properties
Deposition series of amorphous
TNO film were prepared by
reactive dc magnetron sputtering
using circular Ti:Nb target in an
argon/oxygen atmosphere at total
sputtering pressures of 1 Pa at
various oxygen flows. The target
to substrate distance was about
60 mm and the substrate was kept
cold.
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Conclusions
PVD is a wide technique that depends on many factors to achieve a good final
coating.
Sputtering is a very old technique that is now widely applied thanks to the
developed of many factors that can be controlled in order to achieve good coating.
Sputtering has many configurations that depend on the experimenter`s desire also
depends on the devices that the laboratory has and the financial resources.
Some configuration of sputtering are magnetron sputtering, radio frequency
sputtering (sputtering R.F.), glow-discharge sputtering, glow discharge sputtering
diode type, bias sputtering, etc.
The substrate surface is an important parameter to obtain good coatings.
There are a lot of parameters to take into account to achieve coatings with good
quality, all of them are important.
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References
[1] Imagen tomada de Grupo de películas delgada PUJ. Universidad Javeriana.
[Link]
[2] William Robert Grove. [Link]
[3] PVD image. [Link]
[4] AJA International inc. [Link]
[5] Zhanling Wu, Yizhen Bai, Wenchao Qu, Aimin Wu, Dong Zhang, Jijun Zhao, Xin Jiang. Al–Mg–B thin films prepared by
magnetron sputtering, Vacuum, Volume 85, Issue 4, 21 October 2010, Pages 541-545, ISSN 0042-207X,
[Link]
[6] Shahrouz Nayebossadri, Daniel Smith, John Speight, David Book. Amorphous Zr-based thin films fabricated by magnetron
sputtering for potential application in hydrogen purification, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Volume 645, Supplement 1, 5
October 2015, Pages S56-S60, ISSN 0925-8388, [Link]
[7] Stefan Seeger, Klaus Ellmer, Michael Weise, Daniela Gogova, Daniel Abou-Ras, Rainald Mientus. Reactive magnetron
sputtering of Nb-doped TiO2 films: Relationships between structure, composition and electrical properties, Thin Solid Films,
Available online 2 December 2015, ISSN 0040-6090, [Link]
[8] Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. [Link]
[9] Semicore equipment. What is sputtering? [Link]
[10] Linsay Wilson. Demostration of magnetrón plasma. [Link]
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Plasma
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