I am facing a problem with no film deposition despite my repeated attempts to sputter Ni, Mn, and Co onto glass slides using RF magnetron sputtering process.
I have adjusted the power between 30W and 150W, adjusted the target's distance from the substrate, and set the sputtering time to up to 30-80 minutes. And there's still no evidence of any growth on the glass. The plasma forms; however, it can be challenging to get film. Note that I am using an Ar gas environment, and my targets are 3mm thick, facilitated with a 2mm thick Cu backing plate (the total thickness of the target is 5mm).
Has anyone ever seen a situation where no film forms on the substrate, even if the plasma forms Or any ideas as to what could be going wrong here?
The most obvious thing that needs to be checked is whether there are shorts between parts of the chamber which may lead to the plasma being formed in the wrong place which may e.g. lead to a sputter deposition of one shielding material upon the other.
Open your chamber and check if you see traces of deposition on one shielding part, that's the place to start..
Jürgen Weippert Thank you for your suggestion. I will check for any possible shorts between the chamber components and inspect for unintended deposition on the shielding parts. I’ll open the chamber and examine if there are any traces of material buildup in undesired areas. This should help identify if the plasma is forming in the wrong location. I appreciate your guidance!
You may use a DC gun and decrease the target-to-substrate distance as much as possible.
Karimul Islam Thank you for the input! Currently, I am using an RF power source. I am now looking for a suitable DC power source, and once acquired, I will try using a DC gun while minimizing the target-to-substrate distance to see if it improves the sputtering process.
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