APPLICATIONS OF THE TECHNOLOGY:
- Magnetron sputtering, particularly for oxides and fluorides, as used in transparent conducting oxides for solar cells, electrochromic windows, flat panels, touch screens, and other uses
- To be used with all types of sputtering processes, e.g., direct current, radio frequency, medium frequency, and preferably with high power impulse magnetron sputtering
ADVANTAGES:
- Reduces or even eliminates impact of negatively charged ions
- Enhances impact of low energy positive ions
- Reduces defects while maintaining high deposition rate
- Reduces the need for substrate heating
ABSTRACT:
Berkeley Lab researcher André Anders has developed a plasma lens for enhancing the quality and rate of sputter deposition onto a substrate. The plasma lens serves to focus low energy positively charged ions onto the substrate while deflecting negatively charged ions and, at the same time, due to the line of sight positioning of the lens, allowing free passage of neutrals from the target to the substrate. This is a particularly useful arrangement in the deposition of oxide and fluoride films.
Previous approaches, such as shielding, increasing process gas pressure or placing substrates off-axis, that were intended to reduce the flow of negatively charged ions in thin film sputtering had the effect of significantly reducing process deposition rate.
STATUS: Issued U. S. Patent #9,455,057. Available for licensing or collaborative research.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Supporting experiments completed
FOR MORE INFORMATION
A. Anders and J. Brown, “A plasma lens for magnetron sputtering,” IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., vol. 39, pp. 2528-2529, 2011.
SEE THESE OTHER BERKELEY LAB TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS FIELD:
Improvements to High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering, IB-2473
REFERENCE NUMBER: IB-2823