Sputtering is a fascinating physical process where tiny particles from a solid material are ejected from its surface.
This happens when the material is bombarded by energetic particles, usually gaseous ions, that are accelerated from a plasma.
It's important to note that sputtering is a non-thermal vaporization process.
This means it doesn't involve heating the material to extremely high temperatures.
What Happens in Sputtering? 5 Key Steps Explained
1. Setting Up the Substrate
The process starts with a substrate that needs to be coated.
This substrate is placed inside a vacuum chamber filled with an inert gas, typically Argon.
2. Applying a Charge
A negative charge is applied to a target source material.
This material will eventually be deposited onto the substrate.
This charge causes the plasma to glow.
3. Electron Collisions
Free electrons flow from the negatively charged target source material in the plasma environment.
These electrons collide with the outer electronic shell of the Argon gas atoms.
The collision forces these electrons off due to their like charge.
4. Ion Attraction
The Argon gas atoms become positively charged ions.
These ions are attracted to the negatively charged target material at a very high velocity.
This high-speed attraction results in the "sputtering off" of atomic-sized particles from the target source material due to the momentum of the collisions.
5. Deposition of Thin Film
The sputtered particles then cross the vacuum deposition chamber of the sputter coater.
They are deposited as a thin film of material on the surface of the substrate to be coated.
This thin film can be used for various applications in optics, electronics, and nanotechnology.
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