METHOD FOR PRODUCING TARGETS FOR PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (PVD)

Abstract

Method for building up and/or finalizing a PVD target whereas the method comprises a process step where target material is added using an additive method.

Claims

1. A method for building up and/or finalizing a PVD target, comprising using an additive method to add a target material.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the additive method is selected from the group of methods consisting of thermal spray method, conventional laser cladding method, extreme high speed laser cladding method, 3D printing method, and combinations thereof.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising using a combination of materials during at least part of the additive method to build up and/or finalize the PVD target.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the additive method is based on powder material and the powder is a powder mixture.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein during the additive method predefined microgaps are realized.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is a method to repair and/or to refill the target.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a target base plate is coated with the additive method to completely realize a new target.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target comprises a target base plate and target material, and the target material is added to the base plate.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the target material has been added, the target is mechanically flattened.

10. A target comprising a target base plate and a target material, wherein the target material lies directly on the target base plate, and the target base plate has a different material than the target material, and wherein the target material is added to the target base plate by using a method according to claim 1.

11. A method of using a 3-D-printing method for improving a thermal and/or electrical contact achieved in the course of building up and/or finalizing and/or repairing and/or refilling a target which comprises a base plate and a target material carried by the base plate, the method comprising 3-D-printing the required target material onto the base plate and/or onto the target material already carried by the base plate even if the target material onto which the 3-D-printing is accomplished has itself not been 3-D-printed.

Description

[0028] The present invention will now be described in detail on the basis of not limiting examples and with the help of the figures as shown.

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a target before the process.

[0030] FIG. 2 shows a target after the process.

[0031] FIG. 3 shows the surface of a coated layer.

[0032] FIG. 4 shows another picture of the surface of a coated layer with higher magnification.

[0033] FIG. 5 shows an EDX, showing the chemical composition of the coated layer at the surface.

[0034] FIG. 6 shows an SEM of a fracture cross-section of a layer coated with a target according to the invention at high magnification.

[0035] FIG. 7 shows another SEM of a layer coated with a target according to the present invention at lower magnification with respect to FIG. 6.

[0036] FIG. 8 shows the so-called calotte crater profile obtained by calotte grinding of a coated layer.

[0037] FIG. 9 shows the EDX line scan along the cross section of the coated layer.

[0038] According to the following example a target base plate was coated with a laser cladding method. The cladding material comprised 21.5% Ni, 8.5% Cr, 3.5% Mo, 3% Nb and the rest Fe. It was a standard size powder. Oerlikon Metco is selling this powder under the trade name MetcoClad 625F.

[0039] MetcoClad 625F was added to the surface on a base plate suitable for being fixed into a bayonet fixture. The method for adding the material to the surface was laser cladding.

[0040] FIG. 1 shows the resulting unused target. After production the target was slightly bend. However it could be easily flattened mechanically in a sufficient manner, suitable for inserting it into the arc evaporation coating machine. This already shows the excellent adhesion of the laser cladded coating at the metallic base plate. The target was inserted into the coating machine and a coating layer of approximately 10 μm was deposited without incurring any problems. To test the reliable operation in non-reactive as well as reactive arc evaporation, the target was operated in the beginning without oxygen and then successively oxygen flow was added to the arc evaporation resulting in a successively oxidized layer during growth towards the layer surface.

[0041] FIG. 2 shows the target after it was used for deposition. The target surface as well did not show any problems.

[0042] Then the inventors analyzed the coated layer. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the surface of the coated layer. As can be seen the coating process resulted in a rough surface with the coating comprising a considerable amount of droplets. This however is not always a disadvantage.

[0043] An EDX for measuring the chemical composition of the layer surface as coated was performed. This is shown in FIG. 5. The EDX shows an oxidized layer surface. The chemical composition of the metallic constituents in the oxidized layer are in fair agreement with the MetcoClad 625F powder which was used for laser cladding. As mentioned before, the layer was produced ramping up oxygen in order to test the process stability in non-reactive (without oxygen) and reactive (with different oxygen flows) atmosphere. In FIG. 8, the callotte crater profile indicates a change in morphology after 7.2 μm by color change towards the surface near layer region (3.5 μm) which is a result of the oxygen ramping during deposition.

[0044] In order to show the morphology of the coatings as deposited SEM pictures of two cross-sections of the layer as deposited were taken. They are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The change in morphology can also in this cross-section micrograph adumbrated (FIG. 6, after approx. 7 μm).

[0045] FIG. 9 shows the EDX line-scan across the coating layer and clearly indicates the oxygen ramp in the layer.