Title :
Novel sputtering technology for grain-size control
Author :
Vopsaroiu, Marian ; Thwaites, M.J. ; Rand, S. ; Grundy, P.J. ; O´Grady, K.
Author_Institution :
Magnetic Mater. Res. Group, Univ. of York, UK
fDate :
7/1/2004 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
In this paper, we present a description of a novel high-rate plasma sputtering system that allows the control of grain size in sputtered films. Additionally, the system has the advantage of a better utilization of the target material (around 80% to 90%) by eliminating the race track at the target as in conventional plasma magnetron sputtering systems. The potential and capabilities of this novel plasma sputtering device are demonstrated in this paper by the deposition of a number of different Cr thin films suitable for underlayers in thin-film media and for which we have performed a systematic X-ray and TEM analysis to determine the grain-size histograms, mean grain diameters, and their relationship to the sputtering processes.
Keywords :
X-ray analysis; grain size; magnetic thin film devices; plasma deposition; sputtering; transmission electron microscopy; Cr; Cr thin films; TEM analysis; X-ray analysis; grain size; grain-size control; grain-size histograms; high-rate plasma sputtering system; mean grain diameters; plasma magnetron sputtering; plasma sputtering device; race track elimination; sputtered films; sputtering processes; sputtering technology; target material; thin-film media; Control systems; Grain size; Magnetic materials; Plasma devices; Plasma materials processing; Plasma x-ray sources; Size control; Sputtering; Target tracking; Thin film devices; Cr thin films; grain-size control; novel plasma sputtering;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TMAG.2004.828971
