Search Results for dual-ion-beam sputtering

Ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) refers to the process wherein evaporated atoms produced by physical vapor deposition are simultaneously struck by an independently generated flux of ions. This article discusses the energy utilization of this process. It describes the physical and chemical processes occurring at the film-vacuum interface during IBAD and dual-ion-beam sputtering with illustrations. The article also reviews the methods used for large-area, high-volume implementation of IBAD and the modes of film formation for IBAD. It contains a table that presents information on deposition and synthesis of inorganic compounds by IBAD and concludes with a discussion on the improved coating properties, advantages, limitations, and applications of IBAD.

Physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings are harder than any metal and are used in applications that cannot tolerate even microscopic wear losses. This article describes the three most common PVD processes: thermal evaporation, sputtering, and ion plating. It also discusses ion implantation in the context of research and development applications.

This article begins with a list of the factors that influence the properties of physical vapor deposited films. It describes the steps involved in ion plating, namely, surface preparation, nucleation, interface formation, and film growth. The article discusses the factors influencing the properties of ion-plated films. The sources of potential applied on substrate surface, bombarding species, and depositing species are addressed. The article also provides information on the parameters that influence bombardment. It concludes with a discussion on the advantages, limitations, and applications of ion plating.

This article is intended to provide the reader with a good understanding of the underlying science, technology, and the most common applications of focused ion beam (FIB) instruments. It begins with a survey of the various types of FIB instruments and their configurations, discusses the essential components, and explains their function only to the extent that it helps the operator obtain the desired results. An explanation of how the components of ion optical column shape and steer the ion beam to the desired target locations is then provided. The article also reviews the many diverse accessories and options that enable the instrument to realize its full potential across all of the varied applications. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the physical processes associated with the ion beam interacting with the sample. Finally, a complete survey of the most prominent FIB applications is presented.

Ion implantation involves the bombardment of a solid material with medium-to-high-energy ionized atoms and offers the ability to alloy virtually any elemental species into the near-surface region of any substrate. This article describes the fundamentals of the ion implantation process and discusses the advantages, limitations, and applications of ion implantation. It also reviews a typical medium current semiconductor implanter adapted for implantation of metals with the aid of illustrations.

Sputtering is a nonthermal vaporization process in which the surface atoms are physically ejected from a surface by momentum transfer from an energetic bombarding species of atomic/molecular size. It uses a glow discharge or an ion beam to generate a flux of ions incident on the target surface. This article provides an overview of the advantages and limitations of sputter deposition. It focuses on the most common sputtering techniques, namely, diode sputtering, radio-frequency sputtering, triode sputtering, magnetron sputtering, and unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The article discusses the fundamentals of plasma formation and the interactions on the target surface. A comparison of reactive and nonreactive sputtering is also provided. The article concludes with a discussion on the several methods of process control and the applications of sputtered films.

This article describes the principles and applications of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). It provides information on the instrumentation typically used in the AES, including an electron gun, an electron spectrometer, a secondary electron detector, and an ion gun. The article also describes experimental methods and limitations of the AES, including elemental detection sensitivity, electron beam artifacts, sample charging, spectral peak overlap, high vapor pressure samples, and sputtering artifacts.

This article provides a brief account of glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS) for direct determination of trace elements in solid samples and for fast depth profiling in a great variety of innovative materials. It begins by describing the general principles of GDMS. This is followed by a discussion on the various components of a GDMS system as well as commercial GDMS instruments. A description of processes involved in specimen preparation and cleaning in GDMS is then presented. Various problems pertinent to multielemental calibrations in GDMS are discussed along with measures to overcome them. The article further provides information on the processes involved in the analytical setup of parameters in GDMS, covering the steps involved in the analysis of GDMS data. It ends with a section on the application and interpretation of GDMS in the metals industry.

This article discusses the operating principles, advantages, and limitations of scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy that are used to analyze the surface chemistry of plastics.

This article reviews the characterization methods for producing 3-D microstructural data sets. The methods include serial sectioning by mechanical material removal method and focused ion beam tomography method. The article describes how these data sets are used in realistic 3-D simulations of microstructural evolution during materials processing and materials response. It also explains how the 3-D experimental data are actually input and used in the simulations using phase-field modeling and finite-element modeling.

This article discusses the fundamentals of thermal vaporization and condensation and provides information on the various vaporization sources and methods of vacuum deposition. It offers an overview of reactive evaporation and its deposition techniques. The article also explains the advantages, limitations, and applications of vacuum deposition processes. Finally, it provides information on the gas evaporation process, its processing chamber, and related systems.

This article provides a detailed account of the principles, instrumentation,and applications of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a technique used for elemental and compositional analysis of surfaces and thin films. It reviews the nomenclature of energy states and sensitivity of electrons at the surface that are capable of producing peaks in XPS. Additionally, it presents information on the instrumentation and the preparation and mounting of samples for XPS analysis. The article explains qualitative analysis, namely, measuring of shifts in the binding energy of core electrons, multiplet splitting, and the Auger parameter; and quantitative analysis such as depth analysis carried out using XPS. It also discusses the applications of XPS with examples.

The introduction of focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy in the 1990s added the capability of studying fracture surfaces in the third dimension and making site-specific and stress-free transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimens in situ. This article reviews the methods for preparing replicas and the site-specific FIB thin-foil preparation technique. It provides an overview of FIB-TEM specimen preparation.

This article is a compilation of terms and definitions related to materials characterization.

This article briefly discusses popular techniques for metals characterization. It begins with a description of the most common techniques for determining chemical composition of metals, namely X-ray fluorescence, optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, high-temperature combustion, and inert gas fusion. This is followed by a section on techniques for determining the atomic structure of crystals, namely X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and electron diffraction. Types of electron microscopies most commonly used for microstructural analysis of metals, such as scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and transmission electron microscopy, are then reviewed. The article contains tables listing analytical methods used for characterization of metals and alloys and surface analysis techniques. It ends by discussing the objective of metallography.