[labnetwork] Carbon Targets in Sputter

[Rebecca Bolt Ettlinger]

Hi Matthias,

Like others have responded, we see a lot of C contamination in the chamber after DC sputtering of a graphite target. We  allow it on an older system and cover the other targets while C is installed. After deposition of C we immediately clean the chamber. So for us it requires extra resources compared to other materials. We haven't had any user complaints about cross-contamination. Our system is mostly used otherwise to sputter metals, Si and a few dielectrics, always at room temperature.

Before trying out C-deposition ourselves, we asked out on the Basecamp network of Nordic cleanrooms for experience. We got the reply from Chalmers that they get the very best results with PLD in a dedicated chamber and that they use e-beam evaporation for larger substrates, but it's not ideal. From Uppsala we heard that they used to have a dedicated chamber for DC sputtering of carbon and found it difficult to get the films as dense as they had hoped.

Best of luck and best regards,
Rebecca Ettlinger
Nanolab, Technical University of Denmark

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> On Behalf Of Matthias Pleil
Sent: 17. juli 2024 04:19
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
Subject: [labnetwork] Carbon Targets in Sputter

Hello LabNetwork folks,

I have a user that wishes to use a carbon target in our sputter tool.  I have a couple of questions:

  1.  What, if any, concerns should we have regarding cross-contamination.  We typically use the sputter tool for metals and dielectrics.

  1.  Any suggestions, lessons learned if you have used such targets in the past.

Greatly appreciate any input you can provide.  Thanks!


Kind Regards,

Matthias Pleil, Ph.D.
Director Manufacturing Engineering Program
UNM MTTC Cleanroom Manager
Research Professor & Senior Lecturer III of Mech. Eng - UNM
PI - NSF Support Center for Microsystems Education




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