Sputtering preparation

NiMnCo alloy RF magnetic sputtering Preparation of Ti02 films on NiMnCo aUoy and investigation of the effect of total pressure on the structure of TiOy, fdms [569]... 

An interesting material with both electro- and therm ochromism behavior, Li VO2 was evaluated for a "smart window" appHcation (25). Films of Li V02 were prepared by reactive sputtering and annealing an electrolyte of LiClO and propylene carbonate. 

Catalysis. Ion implantation and sputtering in general are useful methods for preparing catalysts on metal and insulator substrates. This has been demonstrated for reactions at gas—soHd and Hquid—soHd interfaces. Ion implantation should be considered in cases where good adhesion of the active metal to the substrate is needed or production of novel materials with catalytic properties different from either the substrate or the pure active metal is wanted (129—131). Ion beam mixing of deposited films also promises interesting prospects for the preparation of catalysts (132). 

There are, however, continuing difficulties for catalytic appHcations of ion implantation. One is possible corrosion of the substrate of the implanted or sputtered active layer this is the main factor in the long-term stabiHty of the catalyst. Ion implanted metals may be buried below the surface layer of the substrate and hence show no activity. Preparation of catalysts with high surface areas present problems for ion beam techniques. Although it is apparent that ion implantation is not suitable for the production of catalysts in a porous form, the results indicate its strong potential for the production and study of catalytic surfaces that caimot be fabricated by more conventional methods. 

Fig. 3. Schematic configuration of (a) the 90° off-axis sputtering technique and (b) the system used to prepare multilayers.

Alternative Thin-Film Fabrication Approaches. Thin films of electronic ceramic materials have also been prepared by sputtering, electron beam evaporation, laser ablation, chemical beam deposition, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In the sputtering process, targets may be metal... 

In the early days of TEM, sample preparation was divided into two categories, one for thin films and one for bulk materials. Thin-films, particularly metal layers, were often deposited on substrates and later removed by some sort of technique involving dissolution of the substrate. Bulk materials were cut and polished into thin slabs, which were then either electropolished (metals) or ion-milled (ceramics). The latter technique uses a focused ion beam (typically Ar+) of high-energy, which sputters the surface of the thinned slab. These techniques produce so-called plan-view thin foils. 

The most common application of dynamic SIMS is depth profiling elemental dopants and contaminants in materials at trace levels in areas as small as 10 pm in diameter. SIMS provides little or no chemical or molecular information because of the violent sputtering process. SIMS provides a measurement of the elemental impurity as a function of depth with detection limits in the ppm—ppt range. Quantification requires the use of standards and is complicated by changes in the chemistry of the sample in surface and interface regions (matrix efiects). Therefore, SIMS is almost never used to quantitadvely analyze materials for which standards have not been carefiilly prepared. The depth resoludon of SIMS is typically between 20 A and 300 A, and depends upon the analytical conditions and the sample type. SIMS is also used to measure bulk impurities (no depth resoludon) in a variety of materials with detection limits in the ppb-ppt range. 

Fabrication techniques, especially the preparation of thin films of functional materials, have made major progress in recent years. Thin-film solid electrolytes in the range of several nanometers up to several micrometers have been prepared successfully. The most important reason for the development of thin-film electrolytes is the reduction in the ionic resistance, but there is also the advantage of the formation of amorphous materials with stoichiometries which cannot be achieved by conventional techniques of forming crystalline compounds. It has often been observed that thin-film electrolytes produced by vacuum evaporation or sputtering provide a struc-... 

Direct-current sputtering is not generally applicable for the preparation of thin-film solid electrolytes since these compounds are electronic insulators. The target surface would be charged with the same polarity as that of the ions in the plasma, and the sputtering plasma would rapidly break down. 

Good surface preparation is essential, as in all deposition processes, and this can be achieved by chemically cleaning the substrate followed by sputter cleaning with argon just prior to the actual deposition. 

DEC coating was first prepared by Aisenberg and Chabot using ion beam deposition in 1971 [2]. At present, PVD, such as ion beam deposition, sputtering deposition, cathodic vacuum arc deposition, pulsed laser deposition, and CVD, like plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition are the most popular methods to be selected to fabricate DEC coatings. 

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