When it comes to depositing thin films, two common methods are thermal evaporation and e-beam evaporation.
5 Key Differences Between Thermal Evaporation and E-Beam Evaporation
1. Heating Method
In thermal evaporation, a resistive "boat" is used to heat the source material.
A high electric current is passed through the boat, causing the material to melt and evaporate.
The evaporated material then condenses onto a substrate to form a thin film.
E-beam evaporation, on the other hand, uses a beam of high-energy electrons to directly heat and vaporize the source material.
The electrons are created by a tungsten filament and accelerated towards the target material, causing it to evaporate.
2. Suitability for Materials
Thermal evaporation is ideal for materials that require a lower melting temperature.
This includes both metals and non-metals.
E-beam evaporation can handle higher temperature materials, such as oxides.
3. Deposition Rate
E-beam evaporation generally has a higher deposition rate compared to thermal evaporation.
This means you can achieve your thin film coatings faster with e-beam evaporation.
4. Thin Film Coatings
Thermal evaporation tends to produce less dense thin film coatings.
E-beam evaporation can achieve higher density coatings.
This is due to the different heating mechanisms and the higher energy provided by the electron beam.
5. Risk of Impurities
Thermal evaporation has a greater risk of impurities due to the crucible being heated.
This can lead to contamination of the evaporated material.
E-beam evaporation can achieve higher purity thin films due to the direct heating of the source material by the electron beam.
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