All Topics  
Vacuum deposition

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Vacuum deposition
 
 
  Topics Vacuum deposition Topic Home

Vacuum deposition or vacuum coating is a family of processes used to deposit layer
Layer

Layer may refer to:* A layer of archaeological deposits in an excavation* A layer hen, a hen raised to produce eggs* Stratum, a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics...
s atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule at sub-atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is sometimes defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere....
 (vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
) on a solid surface. The layers may be as thin as one atom to millimeters thick (freestanding structures). There may be multiple layers of different materials (e.g. optical coating
Optical coating

An optical coating is a thin-film optics of material deposited on an optical component such as a lens or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic Reflection and transmission light....
s). A thickness of less than one micrometre
Micrometre

A micrometre or micron is one Micro- of a metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a millimetre. It is also commonly known as a micron....
 is generally called a thin film
Thin film

Thin films are thin material Layer s ranging from fractions of a nanometre to several micrometres in thickness. Electronics semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
 while a thickness greater than one micrometre is called a coating.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Vacuum deposition'
Start a new discussion about 'Vacuum deposition'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Vacuum deposition or vacuum coating is a family of processes used to deposit layer
Layer

Layer may refer to:* A layer of archaeological deposits in an excavation* A layer hen, a hen raised to produce eggs* Stratum, a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics...
s atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule at sub-atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is sometimes defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere....
 (vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
) on a solid surface. The layers may be as thin as one atom to millimeters thick (freestanding structures). There may be multiple layers of different materials (e.g. optical coating
Optical coating

An optical coating is a thin-film optics of material deposited on an optical component such as a lens or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic Reflection and transmission light....
s). A thickness of less than one micrometre
Micrometre

A micrometre or micron is one Micro- of a metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a millimetre. It is also commonly known as a micron....
 is generally called a thin film
Thin film

Thin films are thin material Layer s ranging from fractions of a nanometre to several micrometres in thickness. Electronics semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
 while a thickness greater than one micrometre is called a coating. The vacuum environment may serve one or more purposes including:
  • reducing the particle density so that the mean free path for collision is long
  • reducing the particle density of undesirable atoms and molecules (contaminants)
  • providing a low pressure plasma environment
  • providing a means for controlling gas and vapor composition
  • providing a means for mass flow control into the processing chamber.


Condensing particles may come from a variety of sources including:
  • thermal evaporation, Evaporation (deposition)
    Evaporation (deposition)

    Evaporation is a common method of thin film deposition. The source material is evaporation in a vacuum. The vacuum allows vapor particles to travel directly to the target object , where they condense back to a solid state....
  • sputtering
    Sputtering

    Sputtering is a process whereby atoms are ejected from a solid target material due to bombardment of the target by energetic ions. It is commonly used for thin-film deposition, etching and analytical techniques ....
  • cathodic arc vaporization
    Cathodic Arc Deposition

    Cathodic arc deposition or Arc-PVD is a physical vapor deposition technique in which an electric arc is used to vaporize material from a cathode target....
  • laser ablation
    Laser ablation

    Laser ablation is the process of removing material from a solid surface by irradiating it with a laser beam. At low laser flux, the material is heated by the absorbed laser energy and evaporation or sublimation....
  • decomposition of a chemical vapor precursor, chemical vapor deposition
    Chemical vapor deposition

    Chemical vapor deposition is a chemical process used to produce high-purity, high-performance solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films....


When the vapor source is from a liquid or solid material the process is called physical vapor deposition (PVD). When the source is from a chemical vapor precursor the process is called low pressure chemical vapor deposition
Chemical vapor deposition

Chemical vapor deposition is a chemical process used to produce high-purity, high-performance solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films....
 (LPCVD) or, if in a plasma
Plasma (physics)

In physics and chemistry, plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or molecule....
, plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD) or "plasma assisted CVD" (PACVD). Often a combination of PVD and CVD processes are used in the same or connected processing chambers.

In reactive deposition the depositing material reacts either with a component of the gaseous environment (Ti + N ? TiN) or with a co-depositing species (Ti + C ? TiC). A plasma environment aids in activating gaseous species (N2 ? 2N) and in decomposition of chemical vapor precursors (SiH4 ? Si + 4H). The plasma may also be used to provide ions for vaporization by sputtering or for bombardment of the substrate for sputter cleaning and for bombardment of the depositing material to densify the structure and tailor properties (ion plating
Ion plating

Ion plating is a physical vapor deposition process that is sometimes called ion assisted deposition or ion vapor deposition and is a version of vacuum deposition....
).

Applications

  • Electrical conduction
    Electrical conduction

    Electrical conduction is the movement of electric charge particles through a transmission medium . The movement of charge constitutes an Current ....
    : metallic films, transparent conductive oxides (TCO), superconducting films & coatings
  • Semiconductor
    Semiconductor

    A semiconductor is a material that has electrical conductivity between those of a Electrical conductor and an electrical insulation; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically....
     devices: semiconductor films, electrically insulating films
  • Solar cell
    Solar cell

    A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts sunlight directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used when the source is unspecified....
    s.
  • Optical films: antireflective coatings, optical filters
  • Reflective coatings: mirror
    Mirror

    A mirror is an object with one surface polished, which leads to reflection and another opaque. The most familiar type of mirror is the plane mirror, which has a flat surface....
    s, heat mirrors
  • Tribological coating: hard coatings, erosion resistant coatings, solid film lubricants
  • Energy conservation
    Energy conservation

    Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. It may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced consumption of energy services....
     & generation: low-E glass coatings, solar absorbing coatings, mirrors, solar thin film
    Thin film

    Thin films are thin material Layer s ranging from fractions of a nanometre to several micrometres in thickness. Electronics semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
     photovoltaic cells, smart films
  • Magnetic films: magnetic recording
  • Diffusion barrier
    Diffusion barrier

    A diffusion barrier is a thin layer of metal usually placed between two other metals. It is done to act as a ?barrier? to protect either one of the metals from corrupting the other....
    : gas permeation barriers, vapor permeation barriers, solid state
    Solid state

    Solid state may refer to:In science:*Solid-state chemistry*Solid-state physics*Solid-state laser*Solid matterIn electronics:...
     diffusion barrier
    Diffusion barrier

    A diffusion barrier is a thin layer of metal usually placed between two other metals. It is done to act as a ?barrier? to protect either one of the metals from corrupting the other....
    s
  • Corrosion
    Corrosion

    Corrosion means the breaking down of essential properties in a material due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means a loss of electrons of metals reacting with water and oxygen....
     protection:


See also

  • Ion plating
    Ion plating

    Ion plating is a physical vapor deposition process that is sometimes called ion assisted deposition or ion vapor deposition and is a version of vacuum deposition....
  • Sputter deposition
    Sputter deposition

    Sputter deposition is a physical vapor deposition method of thin film deposition thin films by sputtering, i.e. ejecting, material from a "target," i.e., source, which then deposits onto a "substrate," e.g., a silicon wafer....
  • Cathodic arc deposition
    Cathodic Arc Deposition

    Cathodic arc deposition or Arc-PVD is a physical vapor deposition technique in which an electric arc is used to vaporize material from a cathode target....
  • Thermal evaporation
  • Spin coating
    Spin coating

    Spin coating is a procedure used to apply uniform thin films to flat Substrate s. In short, an excess amount of a solution is placed on the substrate, which is then rotated at high speed in order to spread the fluid by centrifugal force....


Bibliography

  • SVC, "51st Annual Technical Conference Proceedings" (2008) SVC Publications ISSN 0737-5921 (previous proceeding available on CD)
  • Anders, Andre (editor) "Handbook of Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation and Deposition" (2000) Wiley-Interscience ISBN 0-4712-4698-0
  • Bach, Hans and Dieter Krause (editors) "Thin Films on Glass" (2003) Springer-Verlag ISBN 3-540-58597-4
  • Bunshah, Roitan F (editor). "Handbook of Deposition Technologies for Films and Coatings", second edition (1994)
  • Glaser, Hans Joachim "Large Area Glass Coating" (2000) Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik GmbH ISBN 3-00-004953-3
  • Glocker,and I. Shah (editors), "Handbook of Thin Film Process Technology", Vol.1&2 (2002) Institute of Physics ISBN 0 7503 0833 8 (2 vol. set)
  • Mahan, John E. "Physical Vapor Deposition of Thin Films" (2000) John Wiley & Sons ISBN 0-471-33001-9
  • Mattox, Donald M. "Handbook of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Processing" (1998) Noyes Publications ISBN 0-8155-1422-0
  • Mattox, Donald M. "The Foundations of Vacuum Coating Technology" (2003) Noyes Publications ISBN 0-8155-1495-6
  • Mattox, Donald M. and Vivivenne Harwood Mattox (editors) "50 Years of Vacuum Coating Technology and the Growth of the Society of Vacuum Coaters" (2007), Society of Vacuum Coaters ISBN 978-1-878068-27-9
  • Westwood, William D. "Sputter Deposition", AVS Education Committee Book Series, Vol. 2 (2003) AVS ISBN 0-7354-0105-5
  • Willey, Ronald R. "Practical Monitoring and Control of Optical Thin Films (2007)" Willey Optical, Consultants ISBN 978-6151-3760-5
  • Willey, Ronald R. "Practical Equipment, Materials, and Processes for Optical Thin Films" (2007) Willey Optical, Consultants ISBN 978-6151-4397-2