Specific Process Knowledge/Thin film deposition/Deposition of Tungsten: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
<i> This page is written by <b>DTU Nanolab staff</b></i> | <i> This page is written by <b>DTU Nanolab staff</b></i> | ||
= Tungsten | =Tungsten (W)= | ||
Tungsten (W) is a refractory metal with the highest melting point of any element, remarkable density, hardness, and outstanding resistance to radiation and corrosion, making it indispensable in semiconductor, optical, and harsh‑environment technologies. | |||
Thin films are produced primarily by magnetron sputtering or e-beam evaporation, yielding dense, low-resistivity body-centered-cubic α-W when pressure, substrate temperature, and energy are adequately controlled. | |||
Within semiconductor process flows, α‑W serves as a robust diffusion‑barrier/liner, gate or contact metal, and reliable via/plug fill for logic, memory, and power devices operating at elevated temperatures. | |||
In optics, the metal’s high atomic number and thermal stability underpin multilayer W/Si or W/C stacks used in X‑ray mirrors—such as Göbel mirrors, Kirkpatrick–Baez optics, synchrotron beamline monochromators, and space‑borne telescope coatings—delivering high reflectivity and power‑handling in the soft-to-hard-X-ray range. | |||
α‑W also supports high‑temperature plasmonic and thermally emissive coatings, mid‑IR absorbers, and durable metamaterial surfaces that endure far greater power densities than noble metals. | |||
Beyond electronics and photonics, tungsten’s mechanical strength and radiation tolerance enable MEMS springs, X‑ray/EUV shielding, high‑temperature sensors, and dense protective components; moreover, α‑W becomes superconducting at millikelvin temperatures, allowing niche low‑loss microwave resonators and detector elements where extreme stability is required. | |||
==Evaporation of W== | == Tungsten deposition == | ||
Tungsten (W) can be deposited by e-beam evaporation and sputtering. However, in the case of evaporation, the process generates a lot of heat, so it is not easy to deposit films much thicker than 50-60 nm. Sputtering can be used without any particular issues. In the chart below, you can compare the deposition equipment. | |||
===Evaporation of W=== | |||
*[[/Evaporation of W in Temescal|E-beam evaporation of Tungsten in the Temescal]] | *[[/Evaporation of W in Temescal|E-beam evaporation of Tungsten in the Temescal]] | ||
==Sputtering of W== | ===Sputtering of W=== | ||
*[[/Sputtering of W in Sputter Coater 3|Sputtering of Tungsten in the Sputter Coater 3]] | *[[/Sputtering of W in Sputter Coater 3|Sputtering of Tungsten in the Sputter Coater 3]] | ||