Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Sputtering Targets
Purity: 99.99% | Size: 2” | Thickness: 0.125”
Sputtering is a reliable technology for depositing thin films from a wide variety of materials onto diverse substrate shapes and sizes.
The process using sputter targets is repeatable and scalable from small R&D projects to medium and large production batches.
Chemical reactions may occur on the target surface, in-flight, or on the substrate depending on process parameters, giving experts precise control
over film growth and microstructure.
Applications of Sputtering Targets
-
Film Deposition: Erodes material from a “target” onto a “substrate,” such as a silicon wafer.
-
Semiconductor Etching: Sputter etching is used when high etching anisotropy is needed and selectivity is not critical.
-
Material Analysis: Used in techniques like secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) to measure sputtered atom concentrations and detect even low impurity levels.
-
Space Applications: Sputtering contributes to space weathering, altering the physical and chemical properties of airless bodies like asteroids and the Moon.
About Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3)
Aluminum oxide is a compound of aluminum and oxygen with the formula Al2O3. It is essential for producing aluminum metal, serves as an abrasive due to its hardness,
and acts as a refractory material because of its high melting point.
Thin films produced from Al2O3 sputtering targets are used extensively in mechanical, optical, and microelectronic applications due to:
-
Mechanical strength and hardness
-
Transparency
-
High abrasion and corrosion resistance
-
Excellent insulating and optical properties
These properties depend on sputtering parameters such as deposition rate, target-to-substrate distance, and reactive gas pressures.
Deposition Techniques
Al2O3 thin films have been deposited using:
-
Magnetron sputtering
-
Atomic layer deposition
-
Electron beam evaporation
-
Spray pyrolysis
-
Oxidation of aluminum films
Summary
Al2O3 exhibits unique properties including chemical inertness, high mechanical strength, hardness, abrasion and corrosion resistance, high electrical breakdown field, and high dielectric constant.
Thin films obtained from aluminum oxide sputtering targets are widely applied in:
-
Protective coatings
-
Diffusion barriers
-
Electronic seals
-
Dielectric layers
-
Optical layers
These targets are increasingly used in research and applications in mechanical and microelectronic fields worldwide.
