[labnetwork] Sputtering issue

[Saba Sadeghi]

Dear Labnetwork community,

I am having an issue with magnetron-sputtering of tantalum with DC power. After a few minutes of sputtering Ta glow spots appear on the surface of the target that eventually cause the plasma to distinguish.  I have loaded two fresh 0.31”-thick Ta targets, but both times the same problem occurred, and both times it generated enough particles in a short amount of time ( about 2 hours of sputtering, accumulatively) that led to shorting of the source.

I suspected that this might be a cooling issue, but there is enough flow rate at the sputtering source, and I use indium thin foil for thermal contact between the cathode and the target (recommended by the company- MeiVac).

Have you experienced such a problem? I am wondering if this could be an issue with the sputtering source or could somehow the two Ta targets I loaded have been compromised?

Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Saba Sadeghi
IQC, University of Waterloo


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