Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Sputtering Targets
Purity: 99.999%, Size: 2”, Thickness: 0.125”
Sputtering is a proven technology capable of depositing thin films from a wide variety 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 environments.
The process can be adapted to production batches involving medium to large substrate areas. Chemical reactions may occur on the target surface,
in-flight, or on the substrate, depending on the process parameters. These numerous variables make sputter deposition a complex technique but
provide experts with significant control over film growth and microstructure.
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 the target. Sputter etching is preferred when a high degree of anisotropy is required and
selectivity is not a primary concern.
Sputter targets are also used for analytical purposes by etching away target material.
One example is secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), where the target sample is sputtered at a constant rate. As sputtering progresses, the
concentration and identity of sputtered atoms are measured using mass spectrometry. With the help of sputtering targets, the composition of the
material can be analyzed, and even very low impurity concentrations can be detected.
Sputtering targets also have applications in space. Sputtering is one form of space weathering, a process that alters the physical and chemical
properties of airless bodies such as asteroids and the Moon.
Aluminum oxide is a chemical compound of aluminum and oxygen with the chemical formula Al2O3. Al2O3 is important in the production of aluminum
metal, as an abrasive due to its hardness, and as a refractory material due to its high melting point. Aluminum oxide thin films obtained from
aluminum oxide sputtering targets are widely used in mechanical, optical, and microelectronic applications because of their excellent properties—
mechanical strength, hardness, transparency, high abrasion and corrosion resistance, as well as insulating and optical characteristics. All these
properties of aluminum oxide films depend on sputtering system parameters such as sputtering rate, target-to-substrate distance, and reactive gas
pressures.
Aluminum oxide thin films, which serve important roles in optoelectronics, tribology, sensorics, and nanolithography, have been deposited using
various techniques such as magnetron sputtering, atomic layer deposition, electron beam evaporation, spray pyrolysis, and oxidation of aluminum films.
In summary, Al2O3 possesses 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
attracted increasing interest from researchers worldwide. Aluminum oxide sputtering targets can be used in studies related to mechanical and
microelectrical applications such as protective coatings, diffusion barriers, electronic seals, dielectric layers, and optical layers.
