We are a sputtering target manufacturer, located in Columbus, Ohio. We are equipped to provide standard vacuum deposition materials as well as custom sputtering target stoichiometries & geometries. Our five industrial vacuum hot presses, along with our mills, kilns, and spray dryer combined with over 35 years of experience mean industry leaders looking for consistency, and capability choose us. Our academic and collegiate customers appreciate our ability to produce small-batch research-grade sputtering targets with the same proficiency as our industrial sputtering targets. We even offer sputtering target refurbishment, through our Virgin Powder Repress process, on select platinum group metals (PGMs), and compounds like Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).
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If you have a rotatable indium-bonded target assembly, with a target that is at its end of life, we can help you save money on a new indium bond. Indium (In) is an expensive metal. We take your old assembly, de-bond the used target, reclaim the indium, and pass the savings onto you for your new rotatable target assembly.
We understand that different sputtering systems require tailored cathode designs, which is why we ensure that our high-purity sputtering targets are machined to your specifications. Although some of our targets do not require conductive bonded assembly, we are proficient in carrying out indium bonding in-house for others. In addition, our specialized quality control department employs state-of-the-art C-Scan systems to identify voids in both rotatable and planar targets. This eliminates any potential issues with your PVD process, ensuring that you receive only the very best quality sputtering targets.
There are many reasons that sputtering targets fail. Some are material specific, while others can be avoided or prolonged by reviewing a few things before sputtering begins.
The amount of power that can be applied varies by material. Visit www.lesker.com sputtering target pages for recommendations on most common materials.
Are you interested in learning more about Rotary Metal Sputtering Targets? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
Some materials require a slow ramp up in power. Applying too much power quickly can cause many materials, especially ceramics and low melting point materials, to fail before deposition can even begin. See our website for a ramping procedure that can be used in these cases.
Many materials perform better with bonding. Bonding the target to a backing plate allows for better cooling, adds stability to thin targets, and allows sputtering to continue after minor cracking occurs. Bonding a target will limit the amount of power that can be applied to ~20 watts/square inch. For specifics on which materials are recommended to be bonded, please visit www.lesker.com sputtering target pages prior to ordering.
Some materials will actually melt during sputtering. Using very low power and bonding these materials can sometimes make sputtering possible, but there are some cases where sputtering is just not possible.
When encountering broken targets, if all other parameters seem to be within control, the sputtering gun should be reviewed to ensure that the face of the cathode is within flat. If the cathode is not flat, the target will not be in good contact to provide adequate cooling during sputtering. Though it seems obvious, something as simple as not making sure the cooling water is turned on can cause overheating and failures.
Even when controlling how much power is applied, and how quickly it's applied along with taking bonding into consideration, targets will fail. Targets are considered consumables, but reviewing the parameters above should help extend the lifetime of most sputtering targets.
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