Target Poisoning? What's That? | SAM Sputter Targets
Posté le 31/08/2018
The word "poisoning" is generally used to describe the poisoning caused by the consumption of certain toxic substances by living organisms. However, have you heard of target poisoning? Do you know what it is? Let SAM Sputter Targets answer it for you.
Although the same word is used for "poisoning", the meaning of target poisoning and human poisoning is completely different. During the sputtering process, positive ions are continuously collected on the surface of the target. Since these positive ions are not neutralized, the negative bias of the target surface gradually decreases, and gradually the normal operation cannot be completed. This is the target poisoning phenomenon.
Target poisoning does not always occur. Usually the following factors can cause target poisoning:
1 Air leak or water leakage occurs in the vacuum chamber.
2 There are volatile components in the vacuum chamber.
3 The vacuum chamber is not filled with argon, but is filled with air or other gases.
4 The impurity component reacts with the target material to form certain substances, which cover the surface of the target and affect the film formation speed.
Knowing the cause of target poisoning, we can try to solve the problem of target poisoning from these factors. Usually we use the following methods to prevent target poisoning:
1 Irradiate the target with a medium source or Radio Frequancy (RF) source for one to two hours.
2 Remove the target and polish it with sandpaper.
3 Ensure that the vacuum chamber is not leaking; Clean the inside of the vacuum chamber regularly to remove volatile components.
Stanford Advanced Materials (SAM) Corporation is a global supplier of various sputtering targets and evaporation materials such as metals, alloys, oxides and ceramic materials, which are widely used in multiple industries. We regularly update knowledge and interesting stories of sputtering targets on our website. If you are interested, please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.
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