Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Sputtering Targets
Purity: 99.999%, Size: 6”, Thickness: 0.125”
Sputtering is a proven 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 production batches involving medium to large substrate areas. Depending on process parameters, chemical reactions may occur on the target surface, during particle flight, or on the substrate. Although sputter deposition involves many parameters and is a complex process, it provides experts with significant control over film growth and microstructure.
Applications of Sputtering Targets
Sputtering targets are used for film deposition. Thin-film deposition by sputtering involves eroding material from a “target” and transferring it onto a “substrate,” such as a silicon wafer.
Semiconductor sputtering targets are used for etching when a high degree of etching anisotropy is required and selectivity is not critical.
Sputter targets are also used for analysis by etching away the target material. One example is secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), where the sample is sputtered at a constant rate. As sputtering occurs, the concentration and identity of ejected atoms are measured by mass spectrometry. With the help of sputtering targets, the composition of the material can be determined, and extremely low impurity concentrations can be detected.
Sputtering targets also have applications in space. Sputtering contributes to 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 formula Al2O3. It is important in the production of aluminum metal, valued as an abrasive due to its hardness, and used as a refractory material because of its high melting point. Aluminum oxide thin films produced using aluminum oxide sputtering targets are widely used in mechanical, optical, and microelectronic applications due to their excellent properties, including mechanical strength and hardness, transparency, high abrasion and corrosion resistance, and strong insulating and optical characteristics. These film properties depend on parameters of the sputtering system, such as sputtering rate, target-to-substrate distance, and reactive gas pressures.
Aluminum oxide thin films, which have significant technological applications 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.
