Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Sputtering Targets
Purity: 99.8% | Size: 2” | Thickness: 0.125”
AlN sputtering targets are engineered for depositing uniform thin films on a variety of substrate shapes and sizes. The process is highly repeatable, suitable for both small-scale research and larger production batches. Depending on process conditions, chemical reactions may occur on the target surface, in-flight, or on the substrate. Adjustable parameters allow precise control over film growth and microstructure.
Applications
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Thin Film Deposition: Material is eroded from a target and deposited onto substrates such as silicon wafers.
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Semiconductor Etching: Sputter etching is used where high anisotropy is required without selectivity concerns.
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Material Analysis: Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) leverages sputtering to analyze target composition and detect trace impurities.
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Space Applications: Sputtering contributes to space weathering, altering the physical and chemical properties of airless bodies like asteroids and the Moon.
Aluminum nitride (AlN) combines excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Its wide band gap (~6.2 eV), high refractive index (~2.0), and low absorption coefficient (<10⁻³) make it ideal for optical and optoelectronic devices. Thermal and chemical stability ensures performance in harsh environments.
Deposition Methods
AlN films can be grown via pulsed laser deposition, reactive molecular beam epitaxy, vacuum/cathodic arc deposition, DC/RF reactive sputtering, ion beam sputtering, and MOCVD. Magnetron sputtering is commonly preferred for its simplicity, reproducibility, scalability, and cost efficiency.
Film properties depend on crystal structure, orientation, microstructure, and composition, which are influenced by sputtering power, pulse frequency, duty cycle, growth temperature, nitrogen/argon flow ratio, and sputtering gas pressure. AlN sputtering targets perform reliably with reactive DC magnetron sputtering systems.
