[labnetwork] Contamination control in a UHV co-sputtering system (AJA Orion)

[#MARTINELLI FILIPPO#]

Dear labnetwork community,

I have recently been put in charge of a UHV magnetron sputtering system (AJA Orion) that I need to maintain and operate. The machine is dedicated to co-sputtering of two metals in a nitrogen environment.

The previous operator strongly advised me to be careful about what goes into the chamber, as contamination can affect both the chamber condition and the properties of the deposited material. However, she was not very specific about what exactly causes contamination, and I am unsure how restrictive I should be with the materials I load.

I have a few questions I would appreciate your opinion on:

1. I read that cross-sputtering can occur between nearby substrates, or between the substrate and the chamber. In your opinion, are there materials that are particularly prone to cross-sputtering and hard to remove with standard cleaning routines, and that should therefore be avoided in the chamber altogether?

2. Following on from that, what is your take on lithography resists?

3. How about mounting materials such as Kapton tape or Crystalbond?

I am quite new to this, so any suggestion or recommendation is welcome. I look forward to hearing your opinions.

Cheers,
Filippo
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