As an advanced thin film deposition technology, TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering has shown significant advantages in the field of material surface treatment. This article will elaborate on the advantages of TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering from multiple aspects, including its working principle, technical characteristics, application fields, and comparison with other sputtering technologies.
1. Working principle of TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering
TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology. Its core is to use medium frequency power supply to form a stable electric field between the target and the substrate, and to control the motion trajectory of charged particles (mainly electrons) by applying a magnetic field on the surface of the target. Specifically, its working principle is as follows:
Gas ionization: In a high vacuum environment, inert gases such as argon are introduced into the sputtering chamber. Under the action of the electric field, argon molecules are ionized into argon ions and electrons.
Ion bombardment of target: Argon ions bombard the surface of the target at high speed under the acceleration of the electric field, so that the atoms or molecules of the target obtain enough energy and sputter out from the surface of the target.
Magnetic field constrains electrons: The secondary electrons generated during the sputtering process are affected by the Lorentz force of the magnetic field on the surface of the target material in the process of flying to the substrate, and their motion trajectory is bent, forming a cycloid or spiral motion path. The extension of this motion path increases the probability of collision between electrons and gas molecules, further increasing the ionization rate of the gas.
Thin film deposition: The sputtered target atoms or molecules fly freely in space and eventually deposit on the surface of the substrate, gradually forming a uniform and dense film.
2. Technical characteristics of TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering
High efficiency
The medium frequency power supply can provide stable and efficient energy, so that the sputtering plasma is formed more quickly and evenly. This helps to coat a larger area in a shorter time, thereby greatly shortening the production time.
The confinement of the magnetic field on electrons increases the plasma density and sputtering rate, further increasing the deposition rate.
High stability
The output current and voltage fluctuations of the medium frequency power supply are small, which can reduce abnormal conditions and errors in the production process. This helps to ensure the stability and uniformity of the film deposition process and improve production efficiency and quality.
The presence of the magnetic field reduces the energy of electrons directly bombarding the substrate, reduces the substrate temperature, and thus reduces the fluctuation of film performance caused by substrate temperature changes.
High quality
TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can produce high-quality and high-performance films. Since the sputtered particles have high energy, they can hit the substrate surface with greater kinetic energy, which is conducive to the formation of dense and highly adhesive films.
By precisely controlling parameters such as magnetic field, electric field and gas flow, highly uniform films can be obtained on large-area substrates. This is particularly important for applications that require high-precision films.
Strong adaptability
TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering is suitable for sputtering deposition of a variety of materials, including metals, alloys, oxides, nitrides, etc. This makes the technology have broad application prospects in many fields.
By adjusting the sputtering parameters and target types, films with different properties and structures can be prepared to meet diverse needs.
Multiple protection functions
TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering coating power supply has multiple protection functions, such as overcurrent protection, overvoltage protection, overheating protection, etc. These protection functions can protect equipment and materials from damage and improve the safety and reliability of equipment.
3. Application fields of TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering
Due to the above-mentioned significant advantages of TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering, it has been widely used in many fields. The following are some of the main application fields:
Microelectronics field
Advanced integrated circuits: With the continuous reduction of the feature size of integrated circuits, the requirements for the uniformity, purity, interface quality, etc. of material films are increasing. TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can accurately control the thickness, purity and interface quality of the film to meet the manufacturing needs of advanced integrated circuits.
New storage technology: In the research and development of new storage technologies such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM), high-quality magnetic films are the key to realizing information storage. TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can accurately control the composition, thickness and microstructure of magnetic films, thereby optimizing their magnetic properties.
Metal electrode films: In integrated circuits, ohmic contact metal electrode films (such as Al, Cu, Au, W, Ti, etc.) are crucial to device performance. TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can ensure good ohmic contact between electrodes and semiconductor materials, and improve the stability and reliability of devices.
Dielectric films: TiN, Ta2O5, TiO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, AlN and other dielectric films are widely used in key parts such as gate insulation layers and diffusion barrier layers. TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can produce high-purity, low-defect density dielectric films, effectively isolating the diffusion between different materials.
Optical field
Anti-reflection film: Anti-reflection film is an indispensable part of the optical system. Thin films such as SiO2 and MgF2 prepared by TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering technology can effectively reduce the reflection loss of light and improve the light transmission performance of the optical system.
Transparent conductive glass: On a glass substrate or a flexible substrate, SiO2 film and doped ZnO or InSn oxide (ITO) film are deposited by TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering technology to produce transparent conductive glass with high transmittance and low resistivity. Such products are widely used in flat panel display devices, solar cells and other fields.
Mechanical processing field
Surface functional film: Through TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering technology, thin films with specific functions can be deposited on metal or non-metal surfaces, such as self-lubricating films, corrosion-resistant films, etc. These films can significantly improve the surface properties of materials, improve their wear resistance, corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance.
Superhard film: Superhard films such as diamond films and diamond-like films prepared by TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering technology have extremely high hardness and good wear resistance. These superhard films have broad application prospects in the fields of cutting tools, molds, etc.
Other fields
Solar cells: In solar cells, transparent conductive films (such as ITO) prepared by TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering technology not only have high transmittance and low resistivity, but also form good interface contact with solar cell materials, thereby improving photoelectric conversion efficiency.
Memory alloy film: TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering technology can also be used to prepare new functional materials such as memory alloy films, providing strong support for research and application in related fields.
4. Comparison of TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering with other sputtering technologies
Comparison with DC magnetron sputtering
Sputtering efficiency: TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering has higher sputtering efficiency than DC magnetron sputtering. This is mainly due to the stable energy provided by the medium frequency power supply and the effective confinement of the magnetic field on electrons.
Material adaptability: DC magnetron sputtering has difficulties in sputtering insulating materials because the surface of the insulating target material easily accumulates charges to form an electric field to hinder ion bombardment. TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can better solve this problem and is suitable for sputtering deposition of various materials.
Comparison with RF magnetron sputtering
Equipment cost: RF magnetron sputtering equipment is usually more complex and more expensive than TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering equipment. This is mainly because the cost of components such as RF power supply and related matching networks is high.
Sputtering effect: RF magnetron sputtering has advantages in sputtering insulating materials, but TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering can also achieve good results when sputtering conductive materials such as metals. At the same time, TG medium frequency magnetron sputtering also performs well in terms of uniformity and density of thin films.
