Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Sputtering Targets
Purity: 99.999%, Size: 4”, Thickness: 0.250”
Sputtering is a well-established technology capable of depositing thin films from a wide range of materials onto diverse substrate shapes and sizes. The process using sputter targets is repeatable and can be scaled from small research and development projects to larger production batches. The chemical reactions can occur on the target surface, in-flight, or on the substrate depending on the process parameters. Although sputter deposition involves many variables, these parameters provide experts with significant control over the growth and microstructure of the deposited films.
Applications of Sputtering Targets
Sputtering targets are used for film deposition. The deposition process involves eroding material from a “target” source onto a “substrate,” such as a silicon wafer. Semiconductor sputtering targets are used for etching purposes, particularly where high anisotropy is required and selectivity is not a concern.
Sputter targets are also utilized for analytical purposes by etching away the target material. An example of this occurs in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), where the target sample is sputtered at a constant rate. As sputtering progresses, the concentration and identity of the sputtered atoms are measured using mass spectrometry. This allows determination of the target material composition, including detection of extremely low concentrations of impurities.
Sputtering targets also have applications in space research. Sputtering is a form of space weathering, which alters the physical and chemical properties of airless bodies, such as asteroids and the Moon.
Aluminum oxide is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the formula Al2O3. It is significant for producing aluminium metal, serving as an abrasive due to its hardness, and acting as a refractory material because of its high melting point. Aluminum oxide thin films obtained from aluminum oxide sputtering targets are widely used in mechanical, optical, and microelectronic applications due to their excellent properties, including mechanical strength, hardness, transparency, high abrasion and corrosion resistance, as well as insulating and optical properties. These properties depend on sputtering system parameters such as sputtering rate, target-to-substrate distance, and reactive gas pressures.
Aluminum oxide thin films, which have important technological applications in optoelectronics, tribology, sensorics, and nanolithography, can be deposited using various techniques including magnetron sputtering, atomic layer deposition, electron beam evaporation, spray pyrolysis, and aluminum film oxidation.
Summary
Al2O3 exhibits unique properties including chemical inertness, mechanical strength and hardness, high abrasion and corrosion resistance, a high electrical breakdown field, and a high dielectric constant. Thin films produced using aluminum oxide sputtering targets have gained global attention for applications in protective coatings, diffusion barriers, electronic seals, dielectric layers, optical layers, and other mechanical and microelectrical uses.
