Application and classification of target sputtering coating

Application and classification of target sputtering coating

In physical vapor deposition, the target material is broken down into a vapor state (usually in a high vacuum environment) and then deposited on other materials (called substrate) to form a thin film. Sputtering target films made by physical vapor deposition technology have many advantages, such as excellent hardness, durability and good resistance to discoloration and corrosion. Therefore, nowadays, target sputtering coating is more and more used for a variety of purposes, the demand for target is also increasing rapidly.

Let's take a look at the application of various targets in sputtering coatings.

Decorative coating

Decorative paint

Decorative coating mainly refers to the surface coating of mobile phones, watches, glasses, sanitary ware, hardware parts, etc., to make it look more beautiful. Because pure metal sputtering targets and alloy sputtering targets have a variety of metallic colors, PVD coatings are widely used for decoration. For example, TiN sputtering film has a noble gold color and Cr2N sputtering film has a beautiful silver color. PVD coatings are also available in other special colors, such as rose gold, smoky gray, copper, etc.

Optical coating

Optical coating

PVD coatings used in optical coatings include anti-reflective coatings in cameras, high reflective coatings in solar receivers, low emission coatings in glass, etc. Take Low-E glass, which reflects heat back to its source to keep the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter, helping to prevent UV fading without special cleaning. As a result, low-e coated glass has recently replaced traditional architectural glass. And almost all large glass processing enterprises are rapidly increasing the glass coating line. Accordingly, the demand for sputtering target material also increases rapidly.

Sputtering targets for optical coating include chromium (Cr) sputtering target, NiCr (NiCr) sputtering target, zinc tin (ZnSn) sputtering target, etc.

Abrasive coating

Protective coating

Protective coating, applied to the substrate, plays a protective role and extends its service life. Protective film includes corrosion protective film, lubricating film and thermal protective film. TiC and BN sputtering films are often used as hard films in cutting and grinding tools.

The sputtering targets used for protective coating include Ti-Al (TiAl) sputtering target, AlCr (AlCr) sputtering target, Ti (Ti) sputtering target, etc.

Solar cell coating

Electrical coating

The rapid development of the electronics industry requires high purity and high quality materials. Sputtering targets can be used to manufacture conductive materials and dielectric films, superconducting films and ITO films in semiconductor devices and integrated circuits.

Solar cell coating

At present, solar cells have developed into the third generation. The first generation is monocrystalline silicon solar cells, the second generation is amorphous silicon and polysilicon solar cells, the third generation is thin film solar cells (copper indium gallium selenium CIGS film as the representative), sputtering coating process is the preferred preparation method.

The main targets used for solar cell coating are zinc oxide (ZnO) sputtering target, zinc aluminum (ZnAl) sputtering target, cadmium sulfide (CdS) sputtering target, etc.