Preparation method for metallization of surface electrode of ceramic element

Abstract

The invention provides a preparation method for metallizing an electrode on the surface of a ceramic element by aluminum plating or aluminum alloy coating through a magnetron sputtering process. Comprising the following steps: cleaning and drying the surface of a ceramic element, putting the ceramic element into magnetron sputtering equipment with aluminum or aluminum alloy as a target material, and directly depositing the aluminum or aluminum alloy material on the surface of the ceramic element through magnetron sputtering to form a metallized electrode. A layer of aluminum or aluminum alloy metallization can be directly deposited on the surface of the ceramic element to serve as an electrode instead of silver, copper and other materials, the material cost is greatly reduced, the binding force and conductivity are good, and the process is simple and controllable.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for preparing a surface electrode for a ceramic element, characterized by a method for preparing a metallized electrode by depositing an aluminum or aluminum alloy coating on the surface of a ceramic element using a magnetron sputtering process. Background Technology

[0002] Ceramic component substrate materials include, but are not limited to, functional ceramics, structural ceramics, electronic and semiconductor ceramics. During use, metal electrodes are needed to achieve applications such as welding, conductivity, etching, and electronic shielding. Therefore, metallization is required on the surface of non-conductive or very weakly conductive ceramic components to serve as electrodes. Electrode materials for etching circuits or achieving shielding are generally printed and sintered metals such as silver and copper. However, this process is complex, energy-intensive, polluting, and has high material costs.

[0003] Silver is a commonly used material for metallized electrodes in ceramic components. It is formed by printing and sintering silver powder into a paste. This process requires the inorganic components in the paste to form chemical bonds with the ceramic surface during sintering to improve the metallization bonding force. However, this also leads to a decrease in electrode conductivity, which must be improved by increasing the electrode thickness. As a result, the use of silver as a precious metal is costly, energy-intensive, and polluting.

[0004] Copper has been gradually replacing silver electrodes as a metallized electrode in ceramic components, reducing material costs. However, copper paste is prone to oxidation when used in printing and sintering processes. Introducing reducing gases during sintering to mitigate oxidation is a complex and difficult-to-control process, leading to unstable conductivity and poor soldering results.

[0005] Aluminum metal electrodes are good conductors of electricity, widely available, and inexpensive, making them a good alternative to silver and copper electrodes. However, aluminum electrodes using the printing and sintering process currently have poor conductivity and welding performance, while aluminum electrodes using the spraying process have poor adhesion, are prone to oxidation, and pose a risk of dust explosion during implementation. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the problems in the prior art, this invention provides a method for preparing ceramic element electrodes using aluminum or aluminum alloy materials as electrodes, replacing silver and copper electrode metallization schemes. It also solves the problems of bonding strength and electrical conductivity of aluminum or aluminum alloy metallized electrodes. Furthermore, the process is simple, energy-saving, pollution-free, safe, and reliable.

[0007] This invention uses magnetron sputtering to fabricate aluminum electrodes on the surface of a component. The process includes the following steps: ① Cleaning: The surface of the component (3) is cleaned and then dried for later use. The temperature is controlled between 100 and 250°C. ② Magnetron sputtering: The component (3) is placed in the vacuum chamber of a multi-target facing magnetron sputtering device (1). Argon with a purity of 99.99% is used as the working gas. The target material (2) is pure aluminum (aluminum content greater than 99.95%) or aluminum alloy (aluminum content greater than 90%). The working vacuum is 0.1-1 Pa and the sputtering distance is 50-150 mm. Sputtering deposition is performed on the surface of the component (3) to attach an aluminum or aluminum alloy thin film (4) to the surface of the component (3). The film deposition thickness is 0.01-100 μm.

[0008] A further improvement of the present invention is to add a movable metal baffle (5) between the component (3) and the target (2) in the vacuum chamber of the magnetron sputtering equipment (1). Before sputtering the component surface, the oxide layer on the surface of the aluminum and aluminum alloy target is removed by glow discharge. Then, the metal baffle (5) is moved so that the aluminum or aluminum alloy target (4) is sputtered and deposited on the surface of the component (3) to form a metallized electrode.

[0009] A further improvement of the present invention is that other conductive metal layers, including but not limited to gold, silver, copper, nickel, tin, etc., can be covered on the deposited aluminum or aluminum alloy surface by means of physical deposition, chemical deposition or electrochemical deposition to improve the oxidation resistance and solderability of the electrode. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a magnetron sputtering process for depositing aluminum or aluminum alloy electrodes onto a component substrate material.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the electrode cross-section of a component after depositing aluminum or aluminum alloy electrode material.

[0012] In the figure: 1. Magnetron sputtering equipment; 2. Aluminum or aluminum alloy target; 3. Component substrate material; 4. Aluminum or aluminum alloy electrode; 5. Metal baffle. Detailed Implementation

[0013] A semiconductor ceramic element substrate is selected, cleaned with pure water under ultrasonic conditions, and then baked at 200°C for one hour. The baked ceramic element substrate is then ready for magnetron sputtering metallization.

[0014] Example 1: The baked ceramic component substrate was placed in a magnetron sputtering apparatus. An aluminum target was selected and installed. The magnetron sputtering apparatus was started and a vacuum was drawn. After the vacuum chamber pressure was less than 0.005 Pa, argon gas was introduced, and the argon gas flow rate was controlled to stabilize the vacuum chamber pressure at 0.5 Pa. The magnetron sputtering target power was turned on, and the metal baffle was moved to shield the component surface. The aluminum target surface was first subjected to glow discharge to remove the oxide layer. After 5 minutes, the metal baffle was moved away from the component surface, and the aluminum target was used to directly sputter onto the ceramic component substrate surface. The sputtering time was controlled to achieve a deposited aluminum metal film thickness of 3 μm.

[0015] Comparative Example 2: The equipment and conditions in Example 1 remain unchanged, but the aluminum target is replaced with a copper target. The ceramic element substrate after ceramic baking is sputtered to deposit a copper metal film with a thickness of 3 μm on its surface.

[0016] Comparative Example 3: In Example 2, a set of titanium targets was added to the device as a transition metal layer between the basic surface of the ceramic element and the metallized electrode to improve the adhesion of the metal film layer. Using the same process conditions, the ceramic element substrate after ceramic baking was sputtered so that a titanium film of 0.3 μm was deposited on its surface first, and then a copper metal film with a thickness of 3 μm was deposited.

[0017] The resistance of three groups of metallized components was tested using a resistance meter, and the adhesion strength of the metallized electrode film was tested using the cross-cutting force method and welding thrust. The data are shown in Table 1.

[0018] Table 1 Test Results

[0019] resistance Ω <![CDATA[Adhesive force N / mm 2 > Baigeli test peeling area illustrate Example 1 1.3 35 ＜1% The embodiments of the present invention provide electrodes with good bonding force, low contact resistance, and good conductivity after metallization of the surface of ceramic components, which can meet the conductivity requirements of the components. Moreover, the implementation method is simple and low in cost. Comparative Example 2 1.8 5 ＞95% Comparative Example 2 also uses magnetron sputtering with copper as the metallization electrode. Due to the large difference in basic physical properties between copper and ceramic, the bonding force between the ceramic substrate surface and the metal electrode cannot form a good contact, and the bonding force and conductivity cannot meet the requirements of the actual application of the component. Comparative Example 3 2.2 34 ＜1% Comparative Example 3 improved upon the poor bonding of Comparative Example 2 by using a magnetron sputtering transition layer. However, the added transition layer metal generally has poor conductivity, leading to a decrease in the overall conductivity of the metal electrodes and reducing the overall conductivity and electrical performance of the component.

[0020] This invention provides a method for processing electrodes for ceramic components, characterized by using magnetron sputtering to directly deposit an aluminum or aluminum alloy metal film on the surface of the ceramic component to form a conductive electrode.

[0021] The aluminum or aluminum alloy metal film described in this invention is directly deposited on the ceramic surface, and its deposition thickness is 0.1~100um.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the aluminum or aluminum alloy metal electrode prepared by the present invention has the advantages of simple preparation method and good bonding force and conductivity without the need for a metallized electrode transition layer.

[0023] The above description, in conjunction with specific preferred embodiments, provides a further detailed explanation of the present invention. It should not be construed that the specific implementation of the present invention is limited to these descriptions. For those skilled in the art, various simple deductions or substitutions can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and all such modifications and substitutions should be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for processing ceramic component electrodes, characterized in that a magnetron sputtering process is used to directly metallize and deposit aluminum or aluminum alloy metal film on the surface of the ceramic component to form a conductive electrode.

2. The ceramic component electrode processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The deposition thickness of the aluminum or aluminum alloy conductive metal film is 0.01-100 um.

3. The ceramic component electrode processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy conductive metal film is covered with a gold metal layer.

4. The ceramic component electrode processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy conductive metal film is covered with a silver metal layer.

5. The ceramic component electrode processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy conductive metal film is covered with a copper metal layer.

6. The ceramic component electrode processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy conductive metal film is covered with a nickel metal layer.

7. The ceramic component electrode processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy conductive metal film is covered with a tin metal layer.

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