[labnetwork] Sputtering issue

[Jing Guo]

Hi Saba, 

Was the process a pure Ta sputtering or reactive sputtering? For a pure Ta DC power sputtering process, usually it shouldn’t generate that much particles. Ta coating on the sputter gun house/chimney should have a good adhesion. Any accumulated particles on the Ta target surface after ~ 2 hours sputtering?

If the chimney or clamp ring for the target has been coated too much materials, you need to clean the whole kit and measure the gun to the ground layer by layer once you install a target. Another issue could be that some magnets got demagnetized which cannot provide strong magnetic field on the target surface. 

What was the strike condition, like pressure, power, gun voltage/current? Did you see whether the voltage/current can stabilize once the plasma was generated?

There are several ways to figure out it is the sputter gun issue or a Ta target issue. Normally targets should be fine. 

Thanks.



Best,
Jing
---------------------------------------
Jing Guo Ph.D.
Research Scientist
SEA Cleanroom (SST 017)
Rice University
Houston, TX 
jeanne.guo at rice.edu
713-348-8227







> On Apr 13, 2023, at 6:55 PM, Saba Sadeghi <saba.sadeghi at uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
> 
> 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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