Sputtering onions

Magnetron sputtering is a mature technique for the deposition of thin films, both at laboratory and industrial level. Conceptually, the technique is quite simple and the process can be summarized in a few lines. A gas discharge is ignited by the application of a high voltage between a cathode and an anode. To increase the ionization efficiency of the electrons emitted from the cathode, a magnetic field is generated by a set of magnets placed behind the cathode. The ions present in the plasma, bombard the cathode which results in the ejection or sputtering of atoms. These sputtered atoms condense on the vacuum chamber walls and on the substrate to form a thin film. Behind this apparent simplicity, a complex interplay between different physical and chemical processes is hidden. This is especially the case when a reactive gas is added to the discharge. This book does not discuss all these processes in detail but provides, through a series of images, an overview of them. The short description accompanying the image can serve as a starting point for a more in-depth study.

Autorentext
D. Depla has received his Master Degree in Chemistry in 1991 at Ghent University (Belgium). In 1996 he promoted with a PhD thesis in Solid State Chemistry on spray drying of precursors for superconductors. After a short period as senior scientist in the Department of Solid State Sciences, he became in 1999 Professor at the same department. His research focuses on the fundamental aspects of reactive magnetron sputter deposition. He has shown the importance of ion implantation on this process, and explained the discharge voltage behavior during reactive sputter deposition. In this way, his continuous research in this area resulted in several publications. He is now head of the research group "Dedicated Research on Advanced Films and Targets" (DRAFT). More details can be found on www.draft.ugent.be.