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Author: Ali Kosari Mehr
Proposed and implemented by Kosari Mehr, grid-assisted co-sputtering is a thin-film deposition method the main application of which is to deposit films having various/desirable amounts of impurities (i.e., favorable doping) and to alter the concentration of one constituent in composite thin films without altering the sputtering power—the change in the species’ energies and deposition rate as a result.
Now and then, the conventional co-sputtering method is unable to deposit films having fairly low amounts of impurities since the lowest sputtering power for the generation of glow discharge – the co-sputtering process as a result – can only decrease the amounts of impurities to some given extent. Furthermore, in the conventional co-sputtering method, the change in the amounts of impurities is accompanied by the change in the power applied to the sputtering guns, thus resulting in the change in the species’ energies partaking in the sputtering process. Therefore, when using the conventional co-sputtering method for the deposition of films having various/desirable amounts of impurities, one faces the change in two factors (i.e., the change in the amounts of impurities and the change in the species’ energies).
However, deploying the grid-assisted co-sputtering method, one can deposit composite films in desired ratios of constituents—especially low ratios of a constituent—with the energy of adatoms being subtly changed. In this method, non-magnetic conductive grids are utilized in front of sputtering guns; grids can have different numbers of apertures with different sizes in order that they could allow different amounts of constituents in films. In addition, it should be noted that this method is compatible with various power supplies/magnetic fields used in the sputtering process.
Ultimately, it is worth mentioning that reactive gases can also be used in this method – i.e., reactive grid-assisted co-sputtering. Moreover, the advantage of reactive grid-assisted co-sputtering over conventional reactive co-sputtering is the capability to change a hysteresis loop desirably for one of the guns at shared gas flow rates.
For further information regarding the other properties and configurations of grid-assisted co-sputtering and the physics of the process, please use this Link.
