In the sputtering process an argon plasma is ignited in a vacuum chamber and argon ions are accelerated towards a negatively charged cathode (target) by means of an electrical field. The argon ions hit the target with high kinetic energy, resulting in the emission of atoms of the target material. These atoms diffuse through the vacuum chamber and condense as a thin layer on the substrate.

Since the mid 1970s the production of reproducible thin-film structures in the nanometer range has been an established process in microelectronics, display technology, magnetic and optical data storage and surface coating (architectural and automobile glass, foil coating). From the beginning of the nineties this process has also been used for coating hard materials and wear parts as well as in tribological and decorative applications.

Many years of experience in powder metallurgy allow PLANSEE to meet the increasing requirements with respect to purity, grain structure, density and target geometry as well as to develop new material combinations and carry them through to volume production.

PLANSEE USA supplies Sputtering Targets in:

• refractory metals (Mo, W, Cr, Ta, Nb and their alloys)
• aluminium alloys (AlTi, AlTiX, AlTiXY, AlCr)
• silicides (Xsi)
• ceramic materials (WC, MoS2, Nb2O5, Ta2O5, WO3)