Overview

Sputter deposition is a technique used to deposit thin films of a material onto a surface

(substrate). Atoms and ions of a given material are made to collide. The resulting

momentum exchange disperses incident ions which further perpetuate activity setting

off collision cascades in the target. This activity drives the sputtering process. When

such cascades recoil and reach the target surface with an energy above the surface

binding energy, and atom can be ejected. If the target is thin on an atomic scale the

collision cascade can reach the back side of the target and atoms can escape the

surface binding energy in transmission. The average number of atoms ejected from the

target per incident ion is called the “sputter yield” and depends on the ion incident

angle, the energy of the ion, the masses of the ion and target atoms, and the surface

binding energy of atoms in the target.

Features 

≻ Ion Beam Sputtering

       Permits independent control over the energy and the current density of the bombarding ions.

≻ Ion Beam Sources

       Permits Sputtered coatings to be deposited at very low inert working-gas pressure (<10-4Torr)

       onto substrates not in contact with a plasma.

≻ Good Film Thickness Uniformity

       Even with targets of same diameter as substrate.

≻ Low Pressure Process

         Maintains discharge at a pressure range of about 10-4Torr (roughly one order of magnitude

       lower than the conventional sputter discharge pressure.)