Gallium Nitride Sputtering Target With Uniform Porosity and Low Carbon
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gallium nitride sintered bodies produced by the hot-pressing process often contain unintentionally introduced carbon, leading to high carbon content in sputtered films, which affects their properties.
Innovation Solution
The approach involves controlling the composition of gallium nitride within a specific range to improve moldability, allowing for the preparation of a gallium nitride green body without a heated atmosphere and subsequent sintering using a method other than hot-pressing, resulting in a sintered body with a different structure suitable as a sputtering target.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hot-pressing process is used to produce gallium nitride sintered body, then industrial production efficiency is improved, but carbon is unintentionally introduced into the sintered body causing high carbon content in sputtered films
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the carbon source (heated atmosphere and carbon mold) from the sintering process. By using a non-heated atmosphere and avoiding carbon-containing materials during sintering, the unintentional carbon introduction is eliminated while still achieving industrial production efficiency through the improved moldability of the green body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by improving the moldability of the green body before sintering. By controlling the composition within a specific range to enhance moldability, the green body can be prepared without heated atmosphere and then sintered using methods other than hot-pressing, preventing carbon contamination before it occurs.
2Ease of manufacture
If gallium nitride composition is controlled within specific range to improve moldability, then green body can be prepared without heated atmosphere, but requires new sintering methods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling the composition parameters of gallium nitride within a specific range. This compositional control improves moldability, allowing green body preparation without heated atmosphere. The sintering process uses alternative methods such as pressureless sintering or sintering in non-carbon atmospheres, which are implemented through controlled temperature, pressure, and atmosphere parameters.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If sintering method other than hot-pressing is used, then carbon contamination is avoided, but porosity uniformity and density require optimization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by establishing specific compositional ranges and sintering parameters that provide self-regulating control over the sintering process. By controlling the composition within a specific range and using alternative sintering methods with optimized parameters, the process achieves both carbon contamination avoidance and porosity uniformity without requiring hot-pressing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables the production of gallium nitride sintered bodies with improved porosity uniformity, reduced oxygen content, and enhanced bulk density, leading to faster deposition rates of sputtered films with lower carbon content.
Implementation Method 1
subsequent sintering using a method other than hot-pressing
Implementation Method 2
gallium nitride sintered bodies... are being studied for applications as a sputtering target for depositing a gallium nitride film
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Provided is at least one of a gallium nitride sintered body; a method for industrially producing the sintered body; a sputtering target including the sintered body; and a method for depositing a film with the sputtering target. With the gallium nitride sintered body, a sputtered film can be deposited at a faster deposition rate than with a gallium nitride sintered body produced by a hot-pressing process. A gallium nitride sintered body has a standard deviation of a porosity of 1.0% or less as determined from a scanning electron microscope image of a cross section of the gallium nitride sintered body.