THIN FILM DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES

PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION

INTRODUCTION
a thin film is a low dimensional material created by condensing, one by one, atomic/molecular/ionic species of matter. The thickness is typically less than several microns. Thin - less than about one micron (10,000 A0, 1000 nm) Film - layer of material on surface. If no substrate it is foil. Thin film materials are key elements of continued technological advances made in the fields of optoelectronic, photonic, and magnetic devices. The processing of materials into thin films allows easy integration into various types of devices. The properties of material significantly differ when analysed in the form of thin films.

PVD
Physical method covers the deposition techniques which depend on the evaporation or ejection of the material from a source, i.e. evaporation or sputtering. The deposition is obtained by physically transporting the atoms from source to substrate in gas phase Three main techniques : evaporation , sputtering and MBE

 Used for deposition of metals (Al , Ag) , dielectrics (SiO2) and semiconductor (Si) Energy for deposition is in the form of heat and material for deposition is in solid form

EVAPORATION

CELL HOLDER SUBSTRATE OR SOLAR CELL

CHAMBER UNDER VACUUM

SOURCE MATERIAL PELLETS

RESISTIVE OR EBEAM HEATING PELLET HOLDER

 Thermal evaporation involves three steps : transition of phase (solid to gas), transport of vapor from source to substrate and condensation of vapor on substrate. Mo,W and Ta having high melting point are used to hold the source. Heat for melting source is by thermal or E beam heating or arc heating , laser etc. Vacuum of 10-4 to 10-6 torr ambience is required (higher vacuum gives higher mean free path)
Methods for evaporating multicomponent films include (a) single source evaporation, (b) multisource simultaneous evaporation and (c) multisource sequential evaporation

 Gas impingement rate

Where T = temperature of the source Pvap = vapor pressure (Torr) M = molecular weight cm2 => area of source can convert this to mass evaporation rate

at Pvap = 10-2 torr, mass flux = 10-4 grams/cm2sec

since dM/dAs depends on r, , so does film thickness (d) consider flat substrate, perpendicular to source

point source:

surface source:

surface source has slightly poorer thickness uniformity

Film thickness uniformity for point and surface sources. (insert) geometry of evaporation onto parallel plane substrates

 The principal requirement for successful thin-film growth is that the mean-free path of the atoms must be greater than the distance between the source and substrate. The mean free path of a molecule in a gas is where d is the diameter of the gas molecules, and P is the pressure of the gas. Advantage : relatively high deposition rates, rate and thickness control in real time, and better evaporant stream directional control for applications such as lift off processing to obtain direct patterned coatings.

SPUTTERING
the ejection of surface atoms from an electrode surface by momentum transfer from bombarding ions to surface atoms. an etching process, in fact, used as such for surface cleaning and for pattern delineation. Since sputtering produces a vapor of electrode material, it is also (and more frequently)used as a method of film deposition similar to evaporative deposition.

TARGET

1 kV to 5 kV PLASMA e-

Ar+
e-

Ar+

TARGET ATOMS

SUBSTRATE

GAS INLET

PUMP

Target is made cathode and substrate is anode. Inert gas,Ar is used to create plasma consisting of ionised gas, uionized gas molecules and electrons. Due to high voltage electrons in chamber get accelerated hits Ar atom and dislodge e- to create Ar+ which transfers momentum to Target atom to dislodged a target atom resulting in generation of secondary efrom target maintaining the plasma by creating more Ar+. The dislodged target atom condesned on substrate and thin film deposition on substrate is achieved.

Diagram of a typical MBE system growth chamber

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is performed with different types of semiconducting materials like:
Group IV elemental semiconductors like Si, Ge, and C ii) III-V-semiconductors: arsenides (GaAs, AlAs, InAs), antimonides like GaSb and phosphides like InP iii) II-VI- semiconductors: ZnSe, CdS, and HgTe
i)

RHEED Gun setup for MBE growth

MBE: Working Conditions

The mean free path (l) of the particles > geometrical size of the chamber (10-5 Torr is sufficient) Ultra-high vacuum (UHV= 10-11Torr) to obtain sufficiently clear epilayer. Gas evalution from materials has to be as low as possible. Pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN) is chosen for crucibles (Chemically stable up to 1400C) Molybdenum and tantalum are widely used for shutters. Ultrapure materials are used as source.

Molecular Beam Epitaxy: Process

Ultra-pure elements are heated in separate quasi-knudson effusion cells (e.g., Ga and As) until they begin to slowly sublimate. Gaseous elements then condense on the wafer, where they may react with each other (e.g., GaAs). The term beam means the evaporated atoms do not interact with each other or with other vacuum chamber gases until they reach the wafer.

MBE growth mechanism.

Atoms arriving at the substrate surface may undergo absorption to the surface, surface migration, incorporation into the crystal lattice, thermal desorption. depends strongly on the temperature of the substrate..

Advantages
Clean surfaces, free of an oxide layer In-situ deposition of metal seeds,
semiconductor materials, and dopants

Disadvantages
Expensive (106 $ per MBE chamber) ATG instability

Low growth rate (1m/h)

Very complicated system

Precisely controllable thermal evaporation

Epitaxial growth under ultra-high vacuum

conditions

Seperate evaporation of each component Substrate temperature is not high Ultrasharp profiles