Deposition Rate Of Films Research Articles

Controlling of Chemical Bonding Structure, Wettability, Optical Characteristics of SiCN:H (SiC:H) Films Produced by PECVD Using Tetramethylsilane and Ammonia Mixture

PECVD SiC:H (SiCN:H) films were produced using tetramethylsilane (TMS) as a precursor in a mixture with inert helium or ammonia as a source of nitrogen. Mild plasma conditions were chosen in order to prevent the complete decomposition of the precursor molecules and promote the incorporation of the fragments of precursor into the film structure. The effect of deposition temperature and composition of gas mixture on the chemical bonding structure, elemental composition, deposition rate, and optical properties (transmittance, optical bandgap, and refractive index) of films have been examined. Use of the chosen deposition conditions allowed them to reach a relatively high deposition rate (up to 33 nm/min), compared with films produced in high plasma power conditions. Use of ammonia as an additional gas led to effective incorporation of N atoms in the films. The composition of the films moved from SiC:H to SiN:H with increasing of ammonia content to P(NH3)/P(TMS) = 1. The refractive index and optical bandgap of the films varied in the range of 1.55–2.08 and 3.0–5.2 eV, correspondingly, depending on the film composition and chemical bonding structure. The effect of treatment of SiCN films deposited at 400 °C by plasma of He, O2 or NH3 were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and contact angle measurements. It was shown that plasma treatment significantly changes the surface characteristics. The water contact angle of the film was changed from 71 to 37° after exposure in the plasma conditions.

Effect of ion control strategies on the deposition rate and properties of copper films in bipolar pulse high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Effect of ion control strategies on the deposition rate and properties of copper films in bipolar pulse high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Large-Scale Plasma-Polymerized Hexamethyldisiloxane Thin Films: Role of Interelectrode Distance and Excellent Corrosion Resistance.

In comparison to the more traditional anticorrosion thin film coatings, the plasma polymerization approach offered a more efficient, dry, and straightforward procedure that made it possible to create dense films of several hundred nanometers in thickness, which has potential applications in metallic implant materials. In this paper, large-scale plasma polymerized hexamethyldisiloxane (ppHMDSO) thin film coatings were deposited on stainless steel substrates at different electrode distances to improve their corrosion resistance. The physicochemical properties and corrosion resistance of the ppHMDSO thin films as prepared at different electrode distances were characterized and gauged utilizing various characterization means. The results indicate that decreasing electrode distance accelerates monomer fragmentation and increases the oxidation process. The deposition rate and roughness of the ppHMDSO films both decreased as the electrode distance increased, while the carbonaceous group and hydrophobicity of the films enhanced. The ppHMDSO film prepared at an electrode distance of 40 mm obtained excellent elastic recovery and wear resistance and had an improved corrosion resistance, resulting in a reduction of 75% of the original corrosion behavior against the corrosion in Hank's solution. The resulting large-scale ppHMDSO thin film coatings can be further employed in implants for tissue engineering and biomaterials.

Microstructure and properties of Mo doped DLC nanocomposite films deposited by a hybrid sputtering system

A combination of low internal stress and hydrophobic performance for carbon film is crucial in some practical applications. In this work, Mo doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited by a hybrid coating system. The designed DLC films with various Mo contents were obtained by adjusting the Mo target powers. The microstructure and comprehensive properties including wettability of Mo-DLC films were analyzed systematically. Results showed that with increasing the Mo target power, Mo content and deposition rate of films were continuously increased, and also the surface roughness slightly increased. At low Mo doping, films mainly exhibited amorphous feature, whereas, the MoC nanocrystallites were found at high Mo doping, implying the nanocomposite structure formed where MoC crystals were embedded in the carbon matrix. The sp3-C bond fraction was decreasing with increasing the Mo content due to the metal catalyst effect, which effectively promoted the sp3-C bonds transforming into sp2-C bonds. Meanwhile, the Mo addition had a significant positive effect on the reduction of residual stress. Moreover, the wettability of films was transferred from hydrophilicity state to hydrophobicity state, and the maximum water contact angle was 94.2° at 20.1 at. % Mo doping, then slightly diminished to 92.7° with further increasing Mo content. The present work would offer an available method to fabricate the DLC film with low internal stress and desirable wettability property.

Magnetic field exposure on electroplating process of ferromagnetic nickel ion on copper substrate

In this research, nickel electroplating was carried out under a magnetic field. A constant magnetic field was used to influence the electroplating process. Its effects on surface morphology, deposition rate, current efficiency, crystal structure, hardness, and corrosion properties of nickel films were investigated. Inhomogeneous pyramidal-type structures without crevices were formed on all samples. Ni films electrodeposited under exposure of 0.14T of the magnetic field revealed the highest deposition rate, current efficiency, and hardness. Less crystallite size would produce higher hardness. Three major peaks of X-ray diffraction are observed, and the (111) crystal plane is the most affected by the magnetic field during the electroplating process. The presence of 0.14T of magnetic field on the electrodeposition process also decreases (111) plane, crystallite size, and microstrain. A magnetic field could improve the corrosion and hardness properties of Ni films.

High-rate magnetron deposition of CuOx films in the metallic mode enhanced by radiofrequency inductively coupled plasma source

The article describes the high-rate deposition of CuOx films by magnetron sputtering system operated in the metallic mode and enhanced by radiofrequency inductively coupled plasma (RF-ICP) source. The role of the RF-ICP assistance on modes of Cu target sputtering in Ar + O2 atmosphere was investigated by determination of hysteresis loops and using optical emission spectroscopy. Then, the CuOx films were deposited on the unmoved substrates depending on their position in the vacuum chamber. The deposition conditions to obtain the CuOx films with some phase and elemental composition were determined. The comparison of the deposition rates of the CuO films is done for the deposition by magnetron sputtering in the metallic mode and using conventional reactive sputtering.

Growth of Highly Transparent Amorphous Carbon Films Using Beam Plasma Source

A single beam plasma source was used to deposit hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) coatings at room temperature. Using methane source gas, a-C:H coatings were deposited at different radio frequency (RF) power to fabricate transparent and durable coatings. The film deposition rate was almost linearly proportional to the ion source power. Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films of ~100 nm thickness appeared to be highly transparent from UV to the infrared range with a transmittance of ~90% and optical bandgap of ~3.7 eV. The coatings also possess desirable mechanical properties with Young’s modulus of ~78 GPa and density of ~1.9 g/cm3. The combined material properties of high transmittance and high durability make the ion-source-deposited a-C:H coatings attractive for many applications.

Modulation of the conductive behavior of NiO thin film deposited by HiPIMS through varying the O2 flow ratio

Nickel oxide (NiO) films were prepared through High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS). The influence of O2/(Ar + O2) flow ratio (oxygen flow ratio) from 0.5% to 3% on structural and optoelectronic qualities of NiO films were studied. The results indicate that deposition rate of NiO film reduces as increase of oxygen flow ratio. Atomic force microscopy shows that as oxygen flow ratio increases, surface roughness of NiO films decrease. The transmittances of the NiO films are over 60% in the visible wavelengths. Hall effect measurements suggested that by adjusting the oxygen flow ratio NiO films with different type of conduction can be obtained. The carrier concentration of NiO films increase significantly as oxygen flow ratio goes up, which is caused by the fact that more nickel vacancies and interstitial oxygen are formed in NiO films. Therefore, the electrical conductivity enhances accordingly. The XPS analysis demonstrates the presence of both Ni2+ and Ni3+ oxidation states and also confirms the transition of conductive type of the NiO films. HiPIMS is a potential approach for depositing n type or p type transparent conductive oxide NiO films.

The Correlation of Plasma Characteristics to the Deposition Rate of Plasma Polymerized Methyl Methacrylate Thin Films in an Inductively Coupled Plasma System

A plasma system attached with one internal coil (for generating inductively coupled plasma) and two sputtering carbon targets was set up to deposit PP-MMA (plasma polymerized methyl methacrylate) thin films. PP-MMA was used as a model material in the present study. In the experiment, the working pressure and Ar/MMA flow ratio were varied, which resulted in the change in plasma conditions as well as the deposition rates. The optical emission spectroscopy (OES) method was applied to identify the presence of the excited species related to the fragmented monomer. In addition, the electron temperature and electron density were determined using the modified Boltzmann plot and line-ratio method, according to the measured OES spectra. The deposition rate of the PMMA film was then correlated with the determined plasma characteristics. To determine the vibrational modes of the deposited PP-MMA films, Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry (FTIR) was used. The highest deposition rate of PP-MMA could be obtained with the optimized working pressure and Ar/MMA volume ratio. This could be related to the plasma characteristics that contribute to the fragmentation of the monomer in the plasma.

Magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation systems for pure boron thin film coatings

Deposition of boron-containing coatings is determined by their promising use for surface modification goals. In this work, we consider the equipment for the implementation of two plasma methods for the deposition of thin films of pure boron on the surface. These are a magnetron sputtering with a crystalline boron target heated in the discharge, and a system of an evaporation of pure boron target by an electron beam generated using forevacuum plasma source. The features of functioning, and operating parameters of these devices are presented. The deposition rate of boron coatings on the samples was about 20 nm/min for magnetron sputtering. The boron film deposition rate was significantly higher and reached 1 µm / min.

Effect of target power ratio on microstructure and deposition rate of TiN film deposited by dual pulse power magnetron sputtering

This work focused on removed mode of titanium target material and deposition process of the TiN film in a novel dual pulse power magnetron sputtering (DPPMS), which could improve deposition rate and properties of the TiN film. The study was carried out using DPPMS with different target power ratios between the first and the second ionized periods (Pw/Ps). It was found that when Pw/Ps was changed from 0.9/1.6 to 0.3/2.2, the removed mode of target material changed from sputtering to sputtering and evaporation, and the deposition rate of TiN films increased from 26 to 61 nm/min. All TiN films showed face center cubic (fcc) crystal structure and typical columnar microstructure. The compactness and size of columnar structure were improved with Pw/Ps changed from 0.9/1.6 to 0.3/2.2. Additionally, the hardness of TiN film deposited at Pw/Ps of 0.3/2.2 reached up to 25.4 GPa.

SiOC films on C/C composite prepared by chemical vapor deposition with hexamethyldisilazane precursor

Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) films on C/C composite substrate were prepared by isothermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) as precursor. The deposition rate, microstructure, composition and mechanical properties of films prepared at deposition temperature ranging from 1300 K to 1576 K were investigated in details. With increasing deposition temperature, deposition rate increased gradually and reached a maximum value of 42.9 μm/h at 1513 K and then decreased; concurrently, the surface morphology of SiOC film changed from a smooth-dense to a coarse cauliflower, and then into a needle-like granular morphology. The SiOC films were composed of dominant SiC and a few other phases at all temperatures. In addition, the contents of oxygen-enriched units SiO3C and SiO2 increased with deposition temperature due to redistribution reaction of Si–O and Si–C bonds and oxidation. SiOC films prepared at 1373 K showed the highest hardness and elastic modulus for 28.8 GPa and 234.2 GPa, respectively. SiOC films also contained small amounts of Si3N4 and SiCN at all conditions.

Optimization of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet with Single-Pin Electrode Configuration and Its Application in Polyaniline Thin Film Growth.

This study systematically investigated an atmospheric pressure plasma reactor with a centered single pin electrode inside a dielectric tube for depositing the polyaniline (PANI) thin film based on the experimental case studies relative to variations in pin electrode configurations (cases I, II, and III), bluff-body heights, and argon (Ar) gas flow rates. In these cases, the intensified charge-coupled device and optical emission spectroscopy were analyzed to investigate the factors affecting intensive glow-like plasma generation for deposition with a large area. Compared to case I, the intense glow-like plasma of the cases II and III generated abundant reactive nitrogen species (RNSs) and excited argon radical species for fragmentation and recombination of PANI. In case III, the film thickness and deposition rate of the PANI thin film were about 450 nm and 7.5 nm/min, respectively. This increase may imply that the increase in the excited radical species contributes to the fragmentation and recombination due to the increase in RNSs and excited argon radicals during the atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma polymerization to obtain the PANI thin film. This intense glow-like plasma generated broadly by the AP plasma reactor can uniformly deposit the PANI thin film, which is confirmed by field emission-scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Effects of Ti Target Purity and Microstructure on Deposition Rate, Microstructure and Properties of Ti Films.

Three titanium (Ti) targets with different purities were used to prepare Ti films on polyimide substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. The microstructures of Ti films were characterized by a metallographic microscope, X-ray diffractometer, field emission scanning electron microscope and three-dimensional surface topography instrument. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ti target purity and microstructure on film deposition rate, surface roughness, microstructure and resistivity. The results show that the deposition rate increased with increasing Ti target purity. Ti film deposited by the high-purity (99.999%) Ti target has fewer surface particles with smaller size, lower surface roughness and lower resistivity when compared to that prepared by the Ti target of low purity (99.7%). The surface roughness of Ti film prepared by the high-purity Ti target was Sa = 121 nm, the deposition rate was 16.3 nm/min and the resistivity was 6.9 × 10−6 Ω·m. For Ti targets of the same purity, the performance of Ti film prepared by a target with equiaxed α-phase grains is better than that of Ti film prepared by a target with twins and β-phase grains.

Ultra-high-rate deposition of diamond-like carbon films using Ar/C2H2 plasma jet CVD in combination with substrate-stage discharge

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with excellent mechanical properties are used as functional surface protective films for cutting tools. The deposition rate of DLC films using conventional plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods is several hundred nm min−1. This study applied a negative DC pulsed voltage to a substrate stage irradiated with an Ar/C2H2 mixed plasma jet. The effect of the voltage applied to the stage on the fabricated DLC films was investigated based on the thicknesses and characteristics of the films. DLC films were formed on Si substrates using an Ar/C2H2 plasma jet CVD system. Ar plasma was ejected from a circular nozzle, and C2H2 gas was supplied as a carbon source gas from the center of the circular nozzle. DLC films with a nanoindentation hardness of 17 GPa were obtained by applying −500 V to the stage with a deposition rate of 2140 nm min−1.

Influence of Target Current on Structure and Performance of Cu Films Deposited by Oscillating Pulse Magnetron Sputtering

To improve the deposition rate of thin films, a novel oscillating pulse magnetron sputtering technology (OPMS) was developed to substitute the traditional high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Meanwhile, the relative density and the mechanical properties were also significantly enhanced by this method. In this study, OPMS was used to prepare the pure Cu film, and the effect of the target current on the mode of copper atoms leaving the target (off-target method) under argon gas atmosphere was also investigated. The results showed that with the increase of the target current, the off-target method of copper atoms was transformed from sputtering to evaporation, the surface cracks’ width of the deposited films gradually decreased, and the lattice constants of the Cu films were close to the bulk materials. Furthermore, the deposition rate of Cu films obviously increased from 19 to 103 nm/min. The crystal structures of Cu films showed a face-centered cubic structure, and the grain size increased from 13 to 18 nm, with the target current increased from 2 to 18 A. Moreover, Cu films deposited at currents of 8 and 13 A exhibited excellent adhesion.

Water in Sugar Electrolytes and Application to Electrodeposition of Superconducting Rhenium

A systematic electrochemical study is carried out on electrolytes with superhigh concentrations of fructose. The effect of fructose concentration on the viscosity and conductivity of electrolyte are determined and analyzed using Walden rule and the theory of rate process. The diffusion rates of proton and cupric cation are calculated from the peak current in cyclic voltammogram on stationary electrode and the limiting current on rotating electrodes. Raman spectroscopy is used to characterize the hydrogen bond network in water and the effect of fructose concentration on such network. Rhenium deposition with different fructose concentrations is studied on rotating disc electrodes. X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and four point probe measurements at cryogenic temperature are used to study the deposition rate, crystallographic structure, and superconductivity of film, respectively.

Single-step rapid trench filling with poly-Si using concentration dependence of deposition rate under a SiHCl3–H2 system

A single-step rapid trench filling with poly-Si was demonstrated using SiHCl3, which advantageously has a high decomposition temperature and contains an etching gas. Through elementary reaction rate analysis, we found a unique condition in which the film deposition rate decreased as the source concentration increased. This negative correlation between the concentration and deposition rate is referred to in this study as NCCR. Through cross-sectional observation, we confirmed that under the NCCR condition, the trench was filled without clogging at a rate that was 60 times faster than conventional low-pressure chemical vapor deposition.

Films with nanocomposite structure αFe(N) +ZrN for soft magnetic applications

Film nanocomposite structure αFe(N) + ZrN is able to ensure properties required for application of the films in modern magnetic microelectronics. To form the nanocomposite structure, the Fe79-78Zr10N11-12 films, which were prepared by long-duration (100 and 250 min) reactive magnetron sputtering characterized by the extremely low film deposition rate (7 nm/min), were subjected to annealing (at 300-600°C for 1 h.). In the case of sputtered films, the formation of the mixed structure consisting of two nanocrystalline (the supersaturated nitrogen solid solution in αFe and nonstoichiometric Zr1N1-X nitride) and amorphous phases was shown by x-ray diffraction analysis and conversion Mössbauer spectroscopy. To be the prerequisite for the nanocomposite structure, the phase composition of sputtered films should be metastable and slightly shifted towards the equilibrium. The latter is realized when a proper relationship of thermodynamic and kinetic features of the system is established in the course of deposition of the films. The evolution of the prerequisite state during annealing leads to the equilibrium state characterized by the nanocomposite structure (αFe(N) + Zr1N1-X). Static magnetic properties of the as-sputtered films and the films subsequently annealed at 500°C were measured, and the structural justification of the reached properties was presented. The analysis of the quantitatively estimated structural parameters of the annealed films, taking into account the fundamental concepts of the soft magnetic properties (saturation magnetization and coercive field), provides an opportunity to choose purposefully the conditions of the prerequisite phase state and desirable composite structure. The metastable state formed in the as-sputtered films is substantiated based on fundamentals of the materials science and metal physics. The films after annealing at 500°C show a coercive field of less than 159 A/m and a saturation induction of at least 1.4 T.

Deposition of titanium films on complex bowl-shaped workpieces using DCMS and HiPIMS

Herein, the deposition of titanium films on complex bowl-shaped workpieces was conducted using direct-current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) methods, and the differences in the properties of the film deposited using these methods were investigated. Metallic titanium films were deposited on the inner (concave) and outer (convex) surfaces of a bowl-shaped workpiece. The deposition rate, crystal structure, microhardness, and cross-sectional morphology of the titanium films at different deposition angles with respect to the normal vector of the target surface were characterized. Results showed that HiPIMS films exhibited better uniformity in terms of the crystal texture, microhardness, and microstructure than that of DCMS films, for both concave and convex surfaces. The differences between the properties of the HiPIMS and DCMS deposited films can be attributed to the significantly reduced self-shadowing effect in the oblique incidence deposition provided by HiPIMS. The enhanced energetic bombardment of depositing species on the substrate in the ionization-rich HiPIMS plasma facilitates the deposition films with uniform crystal structures and properties. However, a distinct difference in the film deposition rates was observed for the different shapes of the substrates in both deposition techniques. The films deposited on concave surfaces showed better uniformity than that of the films deposited on convex surfaces. This phenomenon can be explained by considering both the effect of the substrate-to-target distance, line of sight and the electric field near the substrate. The results presented in this manuscript are therefore crucial for the coating design of objects with complex shapes when depositing pure metals using DCMS and/or HiPIMS for decorative, tribological, and tool applications.