Mag­net­ron sput­ter­ing

This is a setup dedicated to the deposition of thin films of varying composition by the technique of RF-magnetron sputtering. It is a Nexdep system from Angstrom that combines two magnetron heads, which can be capped with different target materials and operated simultaneously, and a independent source of Argon ions. This opens the possibility to operate the system following either a conventional approach (deposition of samples with homogeneous composition) or combinatorial approach (deposition of samples with a gradient of characteristics as function of geometrical placement within the sample holder)

What can be done with this setup?

  • Deposition of thin films with practically any desired composition (binary or ternary oxides, nitrides, or oxinitrides, for example) with or without a compositional gradient along the sample surface (maximum sample size is 3”)
  • Deposition of nano structured thin films
  • Control over adhesion and internal structure of the films by a combination of additional ion bombardment, control over deposition angle and control over substrate temperature.