US20030103857A1 - Sputter target made of a silicon alloy and process for producing a sputter target - Google Patents

Sputter target made of a silicon alloy and process for producing a sputter target Download PDF

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Publication number
US20030103857A1
US20030103857A1 US10/223,260 US22326002A US2003103857A1 US 20030103857 A1 US20030103857 A1 US 20030103857A1 US 22326002 A US22326002 A US 22326002A US 2003103857 A1 US2003103857 A1 US 2003103857A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
aluminum
silicon
sputter target
powder
accordance
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Abandoned
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US10/223,260
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English (en)
Inventor
Josef Heindel
Christoph Simons
Martin Weigert
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WC Heraus GmbH and Co KG
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WC Heraus GmbH and Co KG
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Application filed by WC Heraus GmbH and Co KG filed Critical WC Heraus GmbH and Co KG
Assigned to W. C. HERAEUS GMBH & CO. KG reassignment W. C. HERAEUS GMBH & CO. KG ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HEINDEL, JOSEF, SIMONS, CHRISTOPH, WEIGERT, MARTIN
Publication of US20030103857A1 publication Critical patent/US20030103857A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C14/00—Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material
    • C23C14/22—Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material characterised by the process of coating
    • C23C14/34—Sputtering
    • C23C14/3407—Cathode assembly for sputtering apparatus, e.g. Target
    • C23C14/3414—Metallurgical or chemical aspects of target preparation, e.g. casting, powder metallurgy

Definitions

  • the invention concerns a sputter target that is composed essentially of silicon and aluminum and a process for producing this type of sputter target.
  • Sputter targets made of an Si—Al alloy are often used in thin-film technology for the reactive sputtering of optically functional coatings of Si 3 N 4 or SiO 2 .
  • the aluminum is usually added only to produce sufficient electrical conductivity of the sputter target or to reduce its brittleness and susceptibility to cracking.
  • the aluminum content of the target is useless and sometimes may even interfere with the intended function of the thin film.
  • thermal spray methods such as flame spraying and plasma spraying
  • flame spraying and plasma spraying have been found to be effective.
  • a mixture of commercial elemental silicon powder and aluminum powder is used in these processes.
  • a process of this kind is described in EP 0,586,809 B1, according to which the individual silicon particles are supposed to be at least partially coated with a layer of aluminum.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide an Si—Al sputter target that shows only slight variation in Al content or, if at all possible, no variation at all, and to provide a process for producing sputter targets of this type.
  • this goal is achieved by a sputter target that contains a larger fraction of silicon and a smaller fraction of aluminum and is produced from a powdered silicon-aluminum alloy by a forming and/or compacting process.
  • Silicon is a commonly used coating material that is intended to affect the optical properties of the coated substrate.
  • Aluminum is a material that is widely used to reduce the brittleness of a sputter target that is composed mainly of silicon. In a number of special cases, other materials are also used, and the process of the invention may be similarly used with these materials.
  • the sputter target of the invention is thus characterized by the fact that it is not produced from two different types of powders, namely, typically an Si powder and an Al powder, but rather is produced from a single, uniform (although two-phase) Si—Al alloy powder.
  • the Si—Al alloy powder to be used preferably has an Al content of 0.1 to 30 wt. % and especially 5-15 wt. %. However, alloys with other Al contents can be produced and used.
  • the sputter target is characterized by the fact that it is produced by first producing a melt that consists of silicon and aluminum, then using the melt to produce a powder, whose two-phase particles consist of the aluminum-silicon alloy, and, finally, applying the powder to a target support by a P/M production process to produce the sputter target.
  • the Al phase is present in the form of Al precipitations in the Si particle, it is protected during the thermal spray process by the Si particle that surrounds it and cannot vaporize. This circumstance probably explains why the Al content of the alloy powder is maintained with minimal variation even in the spray coating and in the target material. This occurs contrary to the theory advanced in EP 0,586,809, according to which the aluminum supposedly surrounds the silicon particle.
  • the particles of the alloy powder was found to be especially advantageous for the particles of the alloy powder to be as close to spherical in shape as possible. Especially when a thermal spray process is used as the forming process, this leads to especially high densities and especially high application rates and thus to a very economical production process.
  • the cost disadvantage of the alloy powder can be almost completely compensated by using a gas atomization process to produce the powder from a melt in the presence of air.
  • the oxygen content after the melt has been gas atomized in the presence of air approximates the low gas contents of conventional powder mixtures. Therefore, no disadvantages due to gas atomization of the melt in the presence of air would be expected in the subsequent sputtering process.
  • the goal of the invention is achieved by another sputter target that is produced from spheroidal silicon particles that form a silicon matrix, in which the aluminum is finely and/or extremely finely distributed in the silicon particles.
  • a sputter target produced by a state-of-the-art process particles of silicon and aluminum are arranged side by side, so there may be significant variation in the distribution of the aluminum in the silicon
  • aluminum is incorporated in a silicon matrix formed from Si particles, which ensures that the aluminum is uniformly distributed in the sputter target.
  • the Al content of the sputter target is preferably 0.1 to 30 wt. % and especially 5-15 wt. %. However, sputter targets with other Al contents can be produced and used.
  • the aluminum was found to be especially advantageous for the aluminum to be incorporated in the silicon particles in the form of finely or extremely finely distributed aluminum spots. This ensures that the aluminum is in fact uniformly distributed in the sputter target material.
  • the invention also concerns a process for producing the sputter targets described above.
  • the process should be inexpensive and must produce a sputter target that has a composition that is as uniform as possible.
  • the aluminum content should not be subject to any spatial variation.
  • the goal of the invention with respect to a process for producing a sputter target of this type, which is composed essentially of silicon and aluminum and contains a larger fraction of silicon and a smaller fraction of aluminum, is achieved by producing the sputter target from a powdered silicon-aluminum alloy by a forming and/or compacting process.
  • the required silicon-aluminum alloy in powdered form is preferably obtained by first producing a melt composed of silicon and aluminum and then using the melt to produce a powder, whose two-phase particles consist of an alloy of the two materials. The powder is then applied to a target support by a P/M production process to form the sputter target.
  • the alloy powder composed of the two phase particles is preferably applied to the target support by a thermal spray process.
  • a preferred process for producing the powder is gas atomization of the melt in the presence of air.
  • FIG. 1 shows the structure of a target plasma sprayed with the alloy powder in accordance with the invention.
  • FIG. 2 shows the structure of a target produced by a conventional method.
  • an air-exposed melt composed of 90 wt.% Si and 10 wt. % Al (abbreviated SiA110) is atomized under an inert gas.
  • the atomized SiA110 powder is then screened to a particle-size fraction of 45-150 ⁇ m for the purpose of plasma spray application.
  • the resulting powder consists primarily of particles with a spheroidal shape.
  • the alloy powder is then formed into a sputter target.
  • FIG. 1 shows the results obtained by a state-of-the-art process, i.e., the structure of a target plasma sprayed with an Si/Al powder mixture.
  • the SiA110 powder can also be sprayed under “vacuum,” i.e., low-pressure plasma spraying (LPPS).
  • LPPS low-pressure plasma spraying
  • the process of hot isostatic pressing is also suitable for forming the powder.
  • the alloy powder is placed in an HIP container and compacted at temperatures of 600-1,100° C. and a pressure of 2,000 bars.
  • Table 2 gives material data of SiA110 targets produced either from an Si/Al mixed powder or from an SiA110 alloy powder in accordance with the invention.
  • Table 2 clearly shows that a constant value is always established, regardless of the application process, especially where the Al content is concerned.
  • the alloy powder forms a structure in the sputter target that consists of individual spherical particles about 50 ⁇ M in diameter with smaller satellite spheres adjacent to them.
  • Each spherical particle consists essentially of silicon, which appears light gray in the micrograph.
  • Fine and extremely fine aluminum spots are uniformly distributed in the spherical particles and appear as small white spots with maximum diameters of 5 ⁇ m. Since each spherical silicon particle encloses such spots, the aluminum is uniformly distributed through the sputter target.
  • the dark areas represent pores in the sputter target. They occupy a volume of ca. 10% of the sputter target.
  • FIG. 2 shows a sputter target produced by conventional methods. Since this involves the application of a mixture of powders on the target support, large stratified areas of aluminum and silicon are formed. The silicon appears as light-gray areas, and the aluminum appears as white areas in the micrograph. Especially at the upper edge of the micrograph, we see an elongated white area ca. 120 ⁇ m wide and 20-30 ⁇ m high. The dark areas are pores. The coarse agglomeration of the aluminum prevents significant reduction of the brittleness of the sputter target.
  • a sputter target produced by the process of the invention with the use of a powder produced by gas atomization of an SiAl melt can be readily recognized by the fact that finely and extremely finely distributed aluminum is incorporated in the silicon, which is present in the form of nearly spherical particles, which are much larger than the aluminum spots.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physical Vapour Deposition (AREA)
  • Powder Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Manufacture Of Metal Powder And Suspensions Thereof (AREA)
US10/223,260 2001-08-18 2002-08-19 Sputter target made of a silicon alloy and process for producing a sputter target Abandoned US20030103857A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE10140589A DE10140589A1 (de) 2001-08-18 2001-08-18 Sputtertarget aus einer Siliziumlegierung und Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Sputtertargets
DE10140589.8 2001-08-18

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20030103857A1 true US20030103857A1 (en) 2003-06-05

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US10/223,260 Abandoned US20030103857A1 (en) 2001-08-18 2002-08-19 Sputter target made of a silicon alloy and process for producing a sputter target

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (1) US20030103857A1 (de)
EP (1) EP1284303A1 (de)
DE (1) DE10140589A1 (de)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20040062675A1 (en) * 2002-06-07 2004-04-01 Wenjun Zhang Fabrication of ductile intermetallic sputtering targets
US20040094283A1 (en) * 2002-11-14 2004-05-20 W.C. Heraeus Gmbh & Co. Kg Processes for producing a sputtering target from a silicon-based alloy, a sputtering target
FR2881757A1 (fr) * 2005-02-08 2006-08-11 Saint Gobain Procede d'elaboration par projection thermique d'une cible a base de silicium et de zirconium
US20060207740A1 (en) * 2002-11-14 2006-09-21 Martin Weigert Processes for producing a sputtering target from a silicon-based alloy, a sputtering target
US20090188785A1 (en) * 2005-12-14 2009-07-30 Cardinal Cg Company Sputtering Targets and Methods for Depositing Film Containing Tin and Niobium
WO2013149093A1 (en) * 2012-03-28 2013-10-03 Solexel, Inc. Back contact solar cells using aluminum-based alloy metallization
US8946547B2 (en) 2010-08-05 2015-02-03 Solexel, Inc. Backplane reinforcement and interconnects for solar cells
US8962380B2 (en) 2009-12-09 2015-02-24 Solexel, Inc. High-efficiency photovoltaic back-contact solar cell structures and manufacturing methods using thin planar semiconductor absorbers
CN108707870A (zh) * 2018-05-24 2018-10-26 宁波森利电子材料有限公司 高致密度的硅铝旋转靶材的制备方法

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109457127B (zh) * 2018-10-22 2021-02-05 中国兵器科学研究院宁波分院 一种Si-Al电子封装材料的制备方法

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5094288A (en) * 1990-11-21 1992-03-10 Silicon Casting, Inc. Method of making an essentially void-free, cast silicon and aluminum product
JPH05331635A (ja) * 1992-05-29 1993-12-14 Kobe Steel Ltd Ａｌ含有Ｓｉ基合金ターゲット材およびその製造方法
JPH06158303A (ja) * 1992-11-20 1994-06-07 Mitsubishi Materials Corp スパッタリング用ターゲット及びその製造方法
DE19810246A1 (de) * 1998-03-10 1999-09-16 Leybold Materials Gmbh Sputtertarget zum Abscheiden nitridischer oder oxidischer Siliziumschichten und Verfahren zu seiner Herstellung
ATE430636T1 (de) * 1998-12-28 2009-05-15 Ultraclad Corp Verfahren zur herstellung eines silizium/aluminiumsputtertargets

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20040062675A1 (en) * 2002-06-07 2004-04-01 Wenjun Zhang Fabrication of ductile intermetallic sputtering targets
US20060207740A1 (en) * 2002-11-14 2006-09-21 Martin Weigert Processes for producing a sputtering target from a silicon-based alloy, a sputtering target
US20040094283A1 (en) * 2002-11-14 2004-05-20 W.C. Heraeus Gmbh & Co. Kg Processes for producing a sputtering target from a silicon-based alloy, a sputtering target
US20050092455A1 (en) * 2002-11-14 2005-05-05 W.C. Heraeus, Gmbh & Co. Kg Processes for producing a sputtering target from a silicon-based alloy, a sputtering target
US20080138620A1 (en) * 2005-02-08 2008-06-12 Saint-Gobain Glass France Method for Preparaing by Thermal Spraying a Silicon-And Zirconium-Based Target
WO2006085020A1 (fr) * 2005-02-08 2006-08-17 Saint-Gobain Glass France Procédé d'élaboration par projection thermique d'une cible à base de silicium et de zirconium
FR2881757A1 (fr) * 2005-02-08 2006-08-11 Saint Gobain Procede d'elaboration par projection thermique d'une cible a base de silicium et de zirconium
US7993503B2 (en) 2005-02-08 2011-08-09 Saint-Gobain Glass France Method for preparing by thermal spraying a silicon-and zirconium-based target
US20090188785A1 (en) * 2005-12-14 2009-07-30 Cardinal Cg Company Sputtering Targets and Methods for Depositing Film Containing Tin and Niobium
US8962380B2 (en) 2009-12-09 2015-02-24 Solexel, Inc. High-efficiency photovoltaic back-contact solar cell structures and manufacturing methods using thin planar semiconductor absorbers
US8946547B2 (en) 2010-08-05 2015-02-03 Solexel, Inc. Backplane reinforcement and interconnects for solar cells
WO2013149093A1 (en) * 2012-03-28 2013-10-03 Solexel, Inc. Back contact solar cells using aluminum-based alloy metallization
CN108707870A (zh) * 2018-05-24 2018-10-26 宁波森利电子材料有限公司 高致密度的硅铝旋转靶材的制备方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE10140589A1 (de) 2003-02-27
EP1284303A1 (de) 2003-02-19

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Legal Events

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AS Assignment

Owner name: W. C. HERAEUS GMBH & CO. KG, GERMANY

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:HEINDEL, JOSEF;SIMONS, CHRISTOPH;WEIGERT, MARTIN;REEL/FRAME:013209/0518

Effective date: 20020812

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION