Pre-Alloyed Noble Metal Sputtering Target for Uniform Thin Films
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods struggle to produce sputtering targets with high compositional uniformity for multicomponent noble metal alloys, leading to non-uniformity in thin films, which affects their characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A sputtering target is produced by sintering a noble metal alloy powder that has been uniformly alloyed in advance, ensuring a uniform composition with specific X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy criteria, and a controlled particle size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional sintering methods are used with mixed raw material powders, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but compositional uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-alloying the noble metal elements to form uniform alloy particles before sintering. This preliminary alloying step ensures that the compositional uniformity is achieved in the raw material itself, which then translates to uniform thin films during sputtering, without requiring complex in-situ mixing mechanisms during the sintering process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and composition parameters by transforming separate noble metal powders into a pre-alloyed particle form with controlled composition and particle size distribution. This parameter change from mixed powders to pre-alloyed particles resolves the contradiction by maintaining sintering simplicity while achieving compositional uniformity through the pre-alloyed material properties.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple noble metal elements are mixed and sintered, then multicomponent alloy formation is achieved, but compositional non-uniformity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary alloying to create pre-alloyed particles with controlled composition before sintering. This preliminary action ensures that the multiple noble metal elements are uniformly distributed at the particle level, enabling versatile alloy composition control while maintaining compositional uniformity in the final sputtering target and resulting thin films.
3Reliability
If high-entropy alloy thin films are produced with equiatomic composition, then unique high-entropy alloy characteristics are achieved, but compositional non-uniformity prevents single phase solid solution formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary alloying to create pre-alloyed particles with controlled equiatomic or near-equiatomic composition before sintering. This preliminary action ensures that the high-entropy alloy characteristics are achieved by maintaining the required compositional uniformity and equiatomic ratio, enabling single phase solid solution formation in the resulting thin films.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the compositional parameters by precisely controlling the ratio and distribution of noble metal elements in the pre-alloyed particles. This parameter control ensures that the high-entropy alloy characteristics are achieved while maintaining the compositional uniformity necessary for single phase solid solution formation during sputtering.
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
The resulting sputtering target achieves excellent compositional uniformity, enabling the formation of thin films with consistent properties.
Implementation Method 1
The sintering method is a method that involves sintering a raw material in a powdered form to form a target
Implementation Method 2
In sputtering, which is one type of physical vapor deposition method, ions of Ar or the like are caused to collide with a target to thereby enable deposition of a thin film formed of a constituent material of the target on a substrate
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a sputtering target having a high level of compositional uniformity. The sputtering target is formed of a noble metal alloy that is formed of 5 or more noble metal elements and exhibits an X-ray diffraction spectrum in which a number of peaks observed in a diffraction angle 2θ range of 38° to 44° is 1.