How to make thin films from a 3 inch diameter Li target (99.9% purity) in a magnetron sputtering device. Li oxidizes quickly in air, so I'm hesitant to use it. I'm currently storing it in oil. Maybe if I quickly put it in a magnetron chamber and then create a vacuum, will it oxidize?
Hi Kuvondik Dovranov
You have to remove very well all oil of the target surface, to prevent vacuum issues, then if your Li target have not impurities no matter if oxidized, you can perform a first sputter cleaning for remove the surface oxide layer and then start the thin film deposition.
Best regards!
As with any easily oxidizing material, Li will definitely have a layer of oxide (or nitride) even if you handle it fast. A pasting and conditioning process as described by Rafael Valentin Tolentino-Hernandez will definitely be required before you start working on real samples. Probably you will have to run a dummy process every morning before starting with the real samples as well.
The really tricky part, though, comes when you reopen the chamber. At that point, you will have fine distributed Li all around the walls which is really easily flammable. My PhD supervisor Manfred Kappes once told me that he abandoned the research topic of Na sputtering not because it wasn't interesting anymore but because he was tired of having Na fires in his lab. So developing an elaborate scheme regarding the cleaning of chamber shielding parts will have to be your actual headache.
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