Plasma Ion Beam Chemical Vapor Deposition (PIB-CVD): A New Class of Thin Film Deposition

Interview with Ravindranath Viswan

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PIB-CVD is a groundbreaking thin film deposition technology with a wide range of tunability, scalability, and durability. A primary feature of PIB-CVD is that the ion current density and the ion energy can both be independently controlled without the need for substrate biasing or additional grids. To learn more about the configurations, treatments, and other… Read More

Pre-Cleaning in Thin Film Deposition

Woman in scrubs cleaning a thin film

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The global physical vapor deposition market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% from 2022 to 2030. The increasing demand for this process is due to the technological advancements in the industry. PVD films are used in applications for solar cells, optical & electrical components, automobiles, wear coatings, energy… Read More

Managing Spit Defects During Evaporation

A side-by-side comparison of spit during evaporation with a standard source design, and with Denton's proprietary source design. With Denton's design, you see significantly less spit particles.

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Spit defects are some of the biggest obstacles to ensuring thickness uniformity and production efficiency in evaporation and indium bump deposition. There are ways to adjust your process to eliminate spit defects and improve yield, but if you work with a partner who has solved for these defects in their system design, you will realize… Read More

Improving Adhesion During Lift-Off For Indium Bump Deposition

Side-by-side comparison of indium bump arrays without pre-clean and with pre-clean, respectively.

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To form indium bumps, a patterned mask is applied to the wafer and then indium is deposited. The patterned mask has “holes” that allow some indium to deposit directly onto the wafer, while the rest of the indium is deposited onto the mask. After indium bump deposition, the unwanted indium and the mask must be… Read More

4 Design Considerations for Improving Lift-Off Yield

substrate graphic

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While thin film deposition is often used to create a continuous coating on a substrate, there are many applications where a patterned coating is required. These patterns create bumps, trenches or ridges across the surface of the substrate. This coating type is used for 3D applications, such as electrical interconnects. Focal plane arrays with high-density… Read More

Which High Vacuum Pump is Best for PVD?

hydro molecule diagram

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Physical vapor deposition (PVD) and other types of thin film deposition require a vacuum chamber to create thin film coatings. A vacuum is created when the coating chamber is pumped down, and all of the air molecules and other gasses are evacuated from the system. If these molecules are not reduced to an acceptable level,… Read More

Using Ion Sources in Thin Film Deposition

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To create more precise thin films, manufacturers often include an ion source to their thin film deposition system configuration. By using an ion source, manufacturers can produce an ion species that has specific properties during deposition. The source controls the energy, trajectory and reactivity of the ions it produces, helping to create a thin film… Read More

Increasing Throughput in Sputtering and Evaporation

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As integral as throughput is when it comes to meeting production needs, there is no single answer for improving throughput, especially across different deposition methods. With both evaporation and magnetron sputtering, there are a number of factors you need to consider in order to raise your total throughput. Improving Throughput in Magnetron Sputtering With a… Read More

Weighing the Benefits of Sputtering vs. Evaporation

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When comparing the four main types of physical vapor deposition (PVD) for thin films, it is important to know the benefits and drawbacks of each before you decide which method will best suit your application. PVD can occur through sputtering (magnetron or ion beam), which utilizes energetic ions colliding with a target to eject (or… Read More

Closure Rate and Uniformity in Indium Bump Deposition

indium bump deposition

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In indium bump deposition, there is a tradeoff between closure rate and closure uniformity. A slower closure rate and high closure uniformity is ideal, but often, the closer you get to your desired specs in one area, the more you sacrifice with the other. Closure Rate vs. Closure Uniformity Closure rate: This refers to the… Read More