A Multi-Position Drum-Type Assembly for Simultaneous Film Deposition at Different Temperatures in a Single Sputter Cycle–Application to ITO Thin Films

Akhmed K Akhmedov,Vladimir M Kanevsky,Arsen E Muslimov,Abil S Asvarov

doi:10.3390/coatings10111076

Abstract

The design of a multi-position drum-type assembly (MPDTA) for heating and positioning substrates with the possibility of individually setting and controlling the temperature of each substrate, which is applicable for laboratory-type sputtering setups, is described. The above design provides the possibility of the simultaneous deposition of thin films under identical conditions on several substrates at different temperatures, making it possible to explore the temperature dependences of the films’ morphology, structure, and functional characteristics in one single vacuum deposition cycle. As a case study, the possibility of investigating such dependencies for the magnetron deposition of transparent conducting indium–tin oxide (ITO) thin films was demonstrated using the MPDTA. The investigation results revealed that the functional performances of deposited ITO thin films (resistivity and average transmittance in the visible range) improved with increasing the substrate temperature, reaching values of 1.5 × 10−4 Ω·cm and over 80%, respectively, at 300 °C.

Highlights

A heated substrate holder represents a fundamental component of any sputtering setup
Setups designed for the physical vapor deposition (PVD) of films on a plurality of relatively small substrates are equipped with a drum or planetary-type holder that allows each of the substrates to pass sequentially and repeatedly in front of the target [1]
We briefly justify the performance of our multi-position drum-type assembly (MPDTA) apparatus in presenting the characterization results related to the microstructure and functional performances of transparent conducting indium–tin oxide (ITO) films deposited at different temperatures in the same batch

Summary

Introduction

A heated substrate holder represents a fundamental component of any sputtering setup. Setups designed for the physical vapor deposition (PVD) of films on a plurality of relatively small substrates are equipped with a drum or planetary-type holder that allows each of the substrates to pass sequentially and repeatedly in front of the target [1]. In such setups, the heating of substrates is performed by IR radiation from an external stationary heater [2]. This will make it possible to obtain promptly complete information on the substrate

Methods

Results

Conclusion