Search Results for thin-film deposition

This article focuses on different thin-film deposition techniques used to make superconducting films and discusses the properties and advantages of high-critical-temperature and low-critical-temperature materials in a number of applications, including signal processing and analog electronic devices. The article gives a brief introduction on superconducting materials, substrates and buffer layers and discusses the major deposition techniques such as, electron-beam co-evaporation, sputtering from either a composite target or multiple sources and laser ablation. The article also describes the in-situ film growth techniques for producing atomic oxygen by radio frequency excitation or microwave discharge or with ozone.

This article describes the mechanisms involved in creating texture for various metal-fabrication processes, namely, solidification, deformation, recrystallization and grain growth, thin-film deposition, and imposition of external magnetic fields. It discusses two experimental and analytical approaches for experimental determination of texture: one using classical diffraction and pole figure measurement techniques and the other using individual orientation measurements. The article also provides information on microtexture, grain-boundary character, and texture gradients. It concludes with information on texture evolution through modeling.

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 presents a general description of pulsed-laser deposition. It describes the components of pulsed-laser deposition equipment. The article also discusses the effects of angular distribution of materials. Finally, the article reviews the characteristics of high-temperature superconductors and ferroelectric materials.

This article focuses on the evaluation of mechanical properties of freestanding films and films adherent to their substrates. Common methods of testing freestanding films, including uniaxial tensile testing, uniaxial creep testing, biaxial testing, and beam-bending methods, are discussed. For films which are adherent to their substrates, indentation testing is used to evaluate hardness, creep, and strength.

Metallographic contrasting methods include various electrochemical, optical, and physical etching techniques, which in turn are enhanced by the formation of a thin transparent film on the specimen surface. This article primarily discusses etching in conjunction with light microscopy and describes several methods for film formation, namely, heat tinting, color etching, anodizing, potentiostatic etching, vapor deposition, and film deposition by sputtering. It provides information on the general procedures and precautions for etchants and reagents used in metallographic microetching, macroetching, electropolishing, chemical polishing, and other similar operations.

This article is a general introduction to surface engineering of engineering components, providing an overview of the applications of surface treatments and the environmental protection regulations directly or indirectly related to surface engineering processes.

This article describes eight stages of the atomistic film growth: vaporization of the material, transport of the material to the substrate, condensation and nucleation of the atoms, nuclei growth, interface formation, film growth, changes in structure during the deposition, and postdeposition changes. It also discusses the effects and causes of growth-related properties of films deposited by physical vapor deposition processes, including residual film stress, density, and adhesion.

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 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 describes two variations of carbon-base coatings: diamondlike carbon (DLC) coatings and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) coatings. It discusses the basics of a few deposition methods as they apply to industrially relevant coatings. The methods include deposition of tungsten-containing hydrogenated amorphous carbon films, deposition of tetrahedral amorphous carbon films, and deposition of silicon-incorporated hydrogenated amorphous carbon films. The most common deposition technologies for diamond films are also discussed. The article provides information on surface preparation for DLC and diamond deposition. It also provides a discussion on the coating composition and structure, mechanical and tribological properties, and applications of DLC and diamond coatings. The quality control techniques for DLC and diamond coatings are specified to meet customer requirements and ensure repeatable quality.

Multiple-layer alloy electrodeposition involves the formation of an inhomogeneous alloy consisting of lamellae of different composition. This article reviews the process description, engineering parameters, characterization, and applications of multiple-layer alloys. Pulsed-current plating and pulsed-potential plating are also discussed.

Solid lubricants consist of materials placed at the interface between moving bodies to mitigate friction and wear. This article begins with a historical overview of solid lubricants and discuses the characteristics and fundamental aspects of solid lubricants. It describes the material categories of solid lubricant coatings, including graphite, graphite fluoride, transition metal dichalcogenides, diamond-like-carbon, polymeric materials, and metallic films. The article presents a description of deposition methods from the simplest processes involving burnishing and impingement in open air to modern vacuum-based methods for solid lubricants. It concludes with a discussion on metrics that can be used to qualify solid lubricants in high-consequence applications.

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 describes the structure of coatings produced by plasma spraying, vapor deposition, and electrodeposition processes. The main techniques used for microstructure assessment are introduced. The relationship between the microstructure and property is also discussed. The experimental techniques for microstructural characterization include metallographic technique, X-ray diffraction, electron, microscopies, and porosimetry.

This article discusses the application of amorphous and crystalline films through plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) from the view point of microelectronic device fabrication. It describes the various types of PECVD reactors and deposition techniques. Plasma enhancement of the CVD process is discussed briefly. The article also describes the properties of amorphous and crystalline films deposited by the PECVD process for integrated circuit fabrication.