Sputter deposition of metals, alloys, and carbides

Many metals and some alloys and carbides are well suited for sputter deposition. Below you can compare the sputter systems available here at Nanolab for depositing them.

This page is a collective page for metals, alloys, and carbides that we do not deposit by any other methods. Other metals that may be deposited both by sputtering and other methods are described on their own individual metal pages (see the thin film main page).

Metals which have been sputter deposited here at Nanolab and which cannot be deposited here by e-beam or thermal evaporation include:

Cobalt (note that we usually say no to this material as it is toxic and complicates cleaning and maintenance of the sputter systems)
Iron (deposited previously in the Sputter-System (Lesker), see process log)

Alloys which may be sputter deposited here at Nanolab include:

Al-Cu
Cu-Ti
Fe-Mn
Mn-Ir (deposited several times with the Sputter-System (Lesker), see process log)
Nb-Ti (deposited several times with the Sputter-System (Lesker), see process log)
Ni-Fe (deposited several times with the Sputter-System (Lesker), see process log) See detailed information on sputtering of NiFe here
Ni-V (extensively deposited with the Sputter-System (Lesker), see process log, and with the Wordentec, see process log)
Ti-W alloy (10%/90% by weight) (extensively deposited with the Sputter-System (Lesker), see process log, and with the Wordentec, see process log)

Carbides which may be sputter deposited here at Nanolab include:

Silicon Carbide (SiC)
Tantalum carbide (TaC_x)

Comparison of sputter deposition options for metal alloys and magnetic metals

	Sputter deposition (Wordentec)	Sputter deposition (Sputter-System (Lesker))	Sputter deposition (Sputter-system Metal-Oxide (PC1))	Sputter deposition (Sputter-system Metal-Nitride (PC3))
General description	Sputter deposition in chamber which also has thermal and e-beam evaporation sources. Single 6" sputter target directly below substrate. The large target and short target-substrate distance result in relatively good uniformity.	Sputter deposition in chamber with 6 x 2" sputter guns at a slight angle to the substrate.	Sputter deposition in chamber with 6 x 3" sputter guns for metal and oxide deposition. Targets at a sligth angle to the substrate.	Sputter deposition in chamber with 3 x 3" sputter guns at an angle to the substrate and 1 x 4" target directly facing the substrate for metal and nitride deposition.
Pre-clean	RF Ar clean	RF Ar clean	RF Ar clean	RF Ar clean
Target (source material) size	6"	2"	3"	3" and 4"
Angle between target and substrate	facing directly	tilted	tilted	tilted (3") and facing directly (4")
Power supply options	DC	DC and RF	DC, RF, Pulsed DC, and HiPIMS	DC, RF, Pulsed DC, and HiPIMS
Other options		High-strength magnet for magnetic materials	High-strength magnet for magnetic materials
Batch size	24x2" wafers or 6x4" wafers or 6x6" wafers	1x4" wafer or 1x6" wafer or several small samples	up to 10x4" wafers or up to 10x6" wafers or many smaller samples	up to 10x4" wafers or up to 10x6" wafers or many smaller samples
Pumping time from wafer load	Approx. 1.5 hours	Approx. 10 min	Approx. 5 min plus 6 min transfer time	Approx. 5 min plus 6 min transfer time
Allowed substrates	Silicon wafers Quartz wafers Pyrex wafers	Silicon wafers And almost any that does not degas. Special carrier for III-V materials.	Silicon wafers And almost any that does not degas. Special carrier for III-V materials.	Silicon wafers And almost any that does not degas. Special carrier for III-V materials.
Allowed materials	Silicon oxide Silicon (oxy)nitride Photoresist PMMA Mylar SU-8 Metals	Almost any - see cross contamination sheet	Almost any - see cross contamination sheet	Almost any - see cross contamination sheet
Comments	Has been used for TiW and NiV of the alloys mentioned above. You are welcome to request other sputter targets suited for DC sputtering.	Has been used for many alloys. Can sputter magnetic materials like Fe, Co, and alloys containing these metals. You are welcome to request your material of choice. This is our old workhorse, a relatively dirty system.	We expect that this system will be used for many alloys. Can sputter magnetic materials like Fe, Co, and alloys containing these metals. You are welcome to request your material of choice. This is our new system for larger batches and more demanding materials - but also for normal sputtering needs.	This system is mainly intended for materials where it is important to avoid oxygen in the sputtered layer or where it is important to use a 4" target directly below the substrate for high uniformity but the Wordentec is not suitable (if you need high uniformity and RF, pulsed DC or HiPIMS sputtering. Please contact us with requests.).