Patent Grant
8734896
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/540,644, filed Sep. 29, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/648,333, filed May 17, 2012, the entire disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
In various embodiments, the present invention relates to methods of forming large sputtering targets, in particular by joining smaller sputtering-target tiles.
Sputtering, a physical-vapor-deposition technique, is utilized in many industries to deposit thin films of various materials with highly controllable composition and uniformity on any of a variety of substrates. However, for many applications, the size of the desired substrate continues to increase, necessitating the use of larger and larger sputtering targets during the sputtering process. Unfortunately, sputtering targets formed via conventional fabrication methods tends to be too small for many such applications, particularly if the sputtering-target material is a composite (i.e., a substantially uniform mixture of two or more elemental or compound components), as such composite sputtering targets are difficult or impossible to form with a high degree of uniformity by other methods such as rolling. For example, alloys or mixtures of molybdenum and titanium (Mo/Ti) are typically formed into billets for sputtering targets via hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of a mixture of Mo and Ti powders. The largest such billets tend to be smaller than the sputtering-target size desired for, e.g., sputtering of Mo/Ti films on large glass substrates for flat panel displays (FPDs). In order to provide sputtering targets of the requisite dimensions, multiple smaller targets are often positioned in close proximity to each other (but not otherwise joined together) to form a larger target. For example, for use in a “generation 7” sputtering tool, 12 planar plates having dimensions 2700 mm×200 mm×18 mm may be used to form a larger segmented target of approximate dimensions 2700 mm×2400 mm×18 mm.
Such segmented targets present many disadvantages in terms of particle generation (which results in expensive yield loss for the manufacturer) and film nonuniformity. Particle generation may occur preferentially along the edges of the individual sub-targets, and film uniformity tends to decrease as the edges of the target are approached and/or as the edges of the sub-targets are exposed to the sputtering process. Particle generation is a particular problem for FPDs, as each particle generated during the thin-film deposition process can cause a pixel to fail, which in turn has a deleterious impact on image quality and sharpness in the finished FPD.
Similarly, tubular (or “rotary”) sputtering targets are frequently of a segmented design simply because some sputtering materials (e.g., tantalum (Ta) or composites such as Mo/Ti), generally cannot be formed in sufficiently long tubes. For example, in order to make a long rotary target, multiple short cylindrical tiles of the sputtering material are often simply slipped over and bonded to a tubular backing plate made from an easily formable material such as stainless steel or Ti. A single 2.7-meter tube may have six or more tiles, the edges (as many as 12) of which potentially generate contaminating particles. Particle generation is exacerbated in rotary sputtering machines, because such machines typically contain multiple tubular targets. For example, a “generation 8.5” sputtering tool typically contains 12 separate rotary targets, and thus 144 tile edges potentially generating particles.
Techniques such as electron-beam welding have been utilized in attempts to join sub-targets together to form a larger sputtering target, e.g., a composite target of a material such as Mo/Ti. However, electron-beam welding of Mo/Ti sputtering-target sections results in unacceptable porosity in the welded zone due to the relatively high gas (e.g., oxygen) content of the Mo and Ti in the plates. Furthermore, the electron-beam-welded zone tends to have a markedly different microstructure than that of the bulk of the target, which generally results in deleterious nonuniformity in films sputtered from such joined targets.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for methods of joining smaller sputtering targets to form large joined targets with joints that are mechanically robust and that do not generate particles during sputtering of the joined target.
In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, large sputtering targets are formed by tiling together multiple smaller sputtering targets (or “tiles”) each having a desired composition and joining the tiles at least partially by spray deposition (e.g., cold spray) and/or welding techniques. The present embodiments are particularly applicable to sputtering targets including or consisting essentially of composite materials or alloys such as Mo/Ti, tungsten/titanium (W/Ti), or copper/tungsten (Cu/W), and are also applicable to targets of a single material such as Ti, niobium (Nb), Ta, etc. The tiles may be, at least initially, shaped as rectangular prisms or cylinders with substantially right-angled corners. However, the tiles are generally not merely placed in close proximity and spray-coated at the seams therebetween, as such joints may have insufficient strength to withstand subsequent handling and processing. Rather, a shaped joint area is formed in at least one of the tiles at each interface or seam between tiles, and this joint area is at least partially filled and/or coated via spray deposition to form the joint. Such joints may advantageously have superior strength, resistance to particle formation, and microstructures and densities substantially resembling those of the joined plates. The spray-deposited portion of the joint enables the elimination of internal exposed “edges” in the larger joined targets. Such joined targets may have areal dimensions of at least 2800 mm×2500 mm (if planar), or even larger. Rotary joined targets in accordance with embodiments of the invention have lengths of 2.7 meters or even longer. However, joined sputtering targets having smaller areal dimensions or shorter lengths may also be produced in accordance to the embodiments of the invention. Typically the sputtering targets include or consist essentially of only the desired material to be sputtered, and after joining, the joined target is bonded to a backing plate, although in some embodiments the joining of the targets is performed directly on a backing plate. As used herein, a “backing plate” may be substantially planar, tubular, or cylindrical, depending on the geometry of the final desired sputtering target, and may include or consist essentially of one or more materials having a melting point less than that of the target material and/or less than the temperature of the spray material during spray deposition. Herein, references to the joining of two sputtering-target tiles (thereby forming an interface therebetween) are understood to include cases where more than two tiles are joined together at the same interface or at multiple different interfaces (and thus are not limited to cases in which only two tiles are joined), as such cases include the joining of various combinations of two different tiles.
The tiles to be joined may be fabricated with any one or more of a variety of techniques, including HIP, cold isostatic pressing (CIP), spray deposition, molding, etc. As mentioned above, the tiles may, at least initially, have rectangular prismatic or cylindrical shapes with substantially right-angled corners, and then shaped joints (e.g., bevels or chamfers) may be machined or otherwise introduced into the tiles prior to joining them together. Alternatively, the tiles may be initially shaped already incorporating the bevel (or other suitable shape for joining) via a process such as molding in a shaped mold.
In an aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method of forming a joined sputtering target that includes or consists essentially of a sputtering material. Two discrete sputtering-target tiles, which include or consist essentially of the sputtering material, are disposed proximate each other to form an interface between the tiles. The interface includes a gap between the tiles. At least a portion of the gap is filled with a gap-fill material. A spray material is spray-deposited on at least a portion of the gap-fill material (as well as, e.g., a portion of one or both tiles) to form a partial joint. After formation of the partial joint, at least a portion of the gap-fill material is removed from the interface. After such removal, additional spray material is spray-deposited on at least a portion of the partial joint to join the tiles and form the joined sputtering target.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. Filling the at least a portion of the gap with the gap-fill material may alter the microstructure of at least one of the tiles in a region proximate the interface. At least a portion of the altered-microstructure region may be removed prior to spray-depositing the spray material on at least a portion of the partial joint. The gap-fill material may include or consist essentially of a weld bead and/or a rod (which may be hollow) shaped to (and/or deformable to) fill at least a portion of the gap. The sputtering material may include or consist essentially of a mixture or alloy of at least two constituent materials. The gap-fill material may include or consist essentially of at least one (e.g., only one) of the constituent materials. The constituent materials may include or consist essentially of Mo and Ti. The spray material may include or consist essentially of at least one of (e.g., only one) of the constituent materials. The spray material may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The tiles may consist essentially of the sputtering material. The gap-fill material may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially planar (and the joined target may be substantially planar). At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially tubular (and the joined target may be substantially tubular).
The interface may include at least one recess defined by a beveled surface of at least one of the two tiles. The spray material may substantially fill the at least one recess to form a surface substantially coplanar with a surface of at least one of the tiles. The beveled surface may be reentrant. At least a portion of the beveled surface may be substantially planar and form an angle of greater than 45° with respect to the normal to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. The angle may be selected from the range of 45° to 60°. Spray material may be spray deposited on the gap-fill material or on the partial joint at an angle approximately perpendicular to the beveled surface. Spray material may be spray deposited on the gap-fill material or on the partial joint by (i) spray-depositing a first portion of the spray material at an angle approximately perpendicular to the beveled surface and (ii) thereafter, spray-depositing a second portion of the spray material at an angle approximately perpendicular to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. After its formation, the joined sputtering target may be annealed at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 480° C. to approximately 1425° C., or at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 1100° C. to approximately 1425° C. The joined sputtering target may be disposed on a backing plate after formation of the joined sputtering target. The joined sputtering target may be heat treated at least proximate the spray material. The spray material may be spray-deposited on the gap-fill material and/or on the partial joint by cold spray.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method of forming a joined sputtering target that includes or consists essentially of a sputtering material. A mechanical joint is formed between two discrete sputtering-target tiles by overlapping and/or interlocking the tiles at an interface therebetween. The interface includes a recess over the mechanical joint. The tiles are joined by welding the mechanical joint. Thereafter, a spray material is spray-deposited over at least a portion of the welded mechanical joint to substantially fill at least a portion of the recess, thereby forming the joined sputtering target.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. Welding the mechanical joint may include or consist essentially of resistance seam welding. The sputtering material may include or consist essentially of a mixture or alloy of at least two constituent materials. Welding the mechanical joint may include or consist essentially of melting at least one constituent material while at least one other constituent material remains unmelted. The constituent materials may include or consist essentially of Mo and Ti. The spray material may include or consist essentially of at least one of (e.g., only one) of the constituent materials. The spray material may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The tiles may consist essentially of the sputtering material. The mechanical joint may include or consist essentially of an interlocking joint that includes or consists essentially of a tongue-in-groove joint, a dovetail joint, a rabbet joint, a finger joint, or a spline joint. At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially planar (and the joined target may be substantially planar). At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially tubular (and the joined target may be substantially tubular).
The recess may be defined by a beveled surface of at least one of the two tiles. The beveled surface may be reentrant. At least a portion of the beveled surface may be substantially planar and form an angle of greater than 45° with respect to the normal to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. The angle may be selected from the range of 45° to 60°. Spray material may be spray deposited at an angle approximately perpendicular to the beveled surface. Spray material may be spray deposited by (i) spray-depositing a first portion of the spray material at an angle approximately perpendicular to the beveled surface and (ii) thereafter, spray-depositing a second portion of the spray material at an angle approximately perpendicular to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. After its formation, the joined sputtering target may be annealed at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 480° C. to approximately 1425° C., or at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 1100° C. to approximately 1425° C. The joined sputtering target may be disposed on a backing plate after formation of the joined sputtering target. The joined sputtering target may be heat treated at least proximate the spray material. The spray material may be spray-deposited by cold spray.
In yet another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method of forming a joined sputtering target that includes or consists essentially of a sputtering material. Two discrete sputtering-target tiles are disposed substantially in contact at an interface therebetween. A first welding electrode is disposed above the interface, and a second welding electrode is disposed below the interface. The first welding electrode is translated along at least portions of top surfaces of the tiles along the interface while, simultaneously, the second welding electrode is translated along at least portions of bottom surfaces of the tiles along the interface. The first welding electrode remains disposed substantially above the second welding electrode as the electrodes are translated. During at least part of the translation of the first and second welding electrodes, an electrical current is passed through the tiles between the first and second welding electrodes to weld the tiles together at the interface, thereby forming the joined sputtering target.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. A spray material may be spray-deposited on at least a portion of at least one of the tiles prior to disposing the tiles substantially in contact. The spray material may be disposed at the interface after the tiles are disposed substantially in contact. The spray material may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The sputtering material may include or consist essentially of a mixture or alloy of at least two constituent materials. The spray material may include or consist essentially of at least one of (e.g., only one) of the constituent materials. Spray-depositing the spray material may include or consist essentially of cold spray. Welding the tiles together may include or consist essentially of melting at least one constituent material while at least one other constituent material remains unmelted. The constituent materials may include or consist essentially of Mo and Ti. The tiles may consist essentially of the sputtering material. Mechanical force may be applied to the interface with the first and second welding electrodes. At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially planar (and the joined target may be substantially planar). At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially tubular (and the joined target may be substantially tubular). After its formation, the joined sputtering target may be annealed at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 480° C. to approximately 1425° C., or at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 1100° C. to approximately 1425° C. The joined sputtering target may be disposed on a backing plate after formation of the joined sputtering target. The joined sputtering target may be heat treated at least proximate the interface. The interface may define a plane that is not perpendicular to the top and/or bottom surfaces of the tiles.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a joined sputtering target comprising a sputtering material that comprises an alloy or mixture of first and second constituent materials. The joined sputtering target includes or consists essentially of first and second discrete sputtering-target tiles joined at an interface therebetween, the first and second tiles each including or consisting essentially of the sputtering material. Across the interface, (i) regions of the first tile consisting essentially of the first constituent material are bonded to regions of the second tile consisting essentially of the first constituent material, (ii) regions of the first tile consisting essentially of the first constituent material are bonded to regions of the second tile consisting essentially of the second constituent material, (iii) regions of the first tile consisting essentially of the second constituent material are bonded to regions of the second tile consisting essentially of the first constituent material, and (iv) regions of the first tile consisting essentially of the second constituent material are not bonded to regions of the second tile consisting essentially of the second constituent material.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. The bonded regions may be partially melted and/or partially interdiffused. The first constituent material may include or consist essentially of Ti and the second constituent material may include or consist essentially of Mo. The first and second tiles may each consist essentially of the sputtering material.
In a further aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method of forming a joined sputtering target including or consisting essentially of a sputtering material. Two discrete sputtering-target tiles, which include or consist essentially of the sputtering material, are disposed proximate each other, thereby forming an interface between the tiles. The interface includes or consists essentially of an interlocking joint therein and/or a recess in a top surface thereof. A spray material is spray-deposited over at least a portion of the interface, thereby joining the tiles to form the joined sputtering target.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. Disposing the two tiles proximate each other may include or consist essentially of disposing the two tiles substantially in contact with each other. At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially planar (and the joined target may be substantially planar). At least a portion of each of the two tiles may be substantially tubular (and the joined target may be substantially tubular). The spray material may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The tiles may consist essentially of the sputtering material. The sputtering material may include or consist essentially of a mixture or alloy of at least two constituent materials. The constituent materials may include or consist essentially of Mo and Ti. The spray material may include or consist essentially of at least one of (e.g., only one) of the constituent materials. The interface may include a recess, and the spray deposition may fill at least a portion of the recess with the spray material. The interface may include a recess defined by a beveled surface (which may be reentrant) of at least one of the two tiles.
At least a portion of the beveled surface may be substantially planar and form an angle of greater than 45° with respect to the normal to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. The angle may be selected from the range of 45° to 60°. Spray material may be spray deposited at an angle approximately perpendicular to the beveled surface. Spray material may be spray deposited by (i) spray-depositing a first portion of the spray material at an angle approximately perpendicular to the beveled surface and (ii) thereafter, spray-depositing a second portion of the spray material at an angle approximately perpendicular to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. After its formation, the joined sputtering target may be annealed at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 480° C. to approximately 1425° C., or at a temperature selected from the range of approximately 1100° C. to approximately 1425° C. The interface may include an interlocking joint that includes or consists essentially of a tongue-in-groove joint, a dovetail joint, a rabbet joint, a finger joint, or a spline joint. An edge of at least one of the tiles may be beveled prior to disposing the tiles proximate each other, and the beveled edge(s) may form at least a portion of the recess. Spray-depositing the spray material may include or consist essentially of cold spray. The joined sputtering target may be sputtered, and the spray-deposited material may substantially prevent particle generation at the interface. The joined sputtering target may be disposed on a backing plate after spray deposition. The two tiles may be disposed proximate each other on a backing plate prior to spray deposition. The joined sputtering target may be heat treated at least proximate the spray material. The interface may define a plane that is not perpendicular to the top and/or bottom surfaces of the joined sputtering target.
In yet a further aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a joined sputtering target including or consisting essentially of a sputtering material. The joined sputtering target includes or consists essentially of two discrete sputtering-target tiles joined at an interface therebetween. The tiles include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The interface includes a recess therealong at least partially filled with unmelted powder.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. The two tiles may be joined at opposing edges, and the interface may include portions of the two opposing edges substantially in contact with each other and disposed beneath the at least partially filled recess. One of the two opposing edges may at least partially (or even completely) overlap the other opposing edge at the interface below the at least partially filled recess. The interface may define a plane that is not perpendicular to the top and/or bottom surfaces of the joined sputtering target. An interlocking joint that includes or consists essentially of portions of the two tiles may be present at the interface. The interlocking joint may include or consist essentially of a tongue-in-groove joint, a dovetail joint, a rabbet joint, a finger joint, or a spline joint. At least one of the tiles may include a beveled edge, and the beveled edge(s) may form at least a portion of the recess. The at least one beveled edge may have a reentrant surface. At least a portion of the at least one beveled edge may be substantially planar and form an angle of greater than 45° with respect to the normal to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. The angle may be selected from the range of 45° to 60°.
The unmelted powder may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The tiles may consist essentially of the sputtering material. The sputtering material may include or consist essentially of a mixture or an alloy of at least two constituent materials. The unmelted powder may include discrete regions each substantially free of at least one of the constituent materials. The joined sputtering target may include at least one region at the interface in which at least two of the constituent materials are interdiffused. The constituent materials may include or consist essentially of Mo and Ti. A backing plate may be attached to the tiles. The unmelted powder may be in contact with the backing plate. At least a portion of the joined sputtering target may be substantially planar. At least a portion of the joined sputtering target may be substantially tubular.
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a joined sputtering target including or consisting essentially of a sputtering material. The joined sputtering target includes or consists essentially of two discrete sputtering-target tiles joined at an interface therebetween. The tiles include or consist essentially of the sputtering material. The interface includes a recess therealong at least partially filled with melted powder.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. The two tiles may be joined at opposing edges, and the interface may include portions of the two opposing edges substantially in contact with each other and disposed beneath the at least partially filled recess. One of the two opposing edges may at least partially (or even completely) overlap the other opposing edge at the interface below the at least partially filled recess. The interface may define a plane that is not perpendicular to the top and/or bottom surfaces of the joined sputtering target. An interlocking joint that includes or consists essentially of portions of the two tiles may be present at the interface. The interlocking joint may include or consist essentially of a tongue-in-groove joint, a dovetail joint, a rabbet joint, a finger joint, or a spline joint. At least one of the tiles may include a beveled edge, and the beveled edge(s) may form at least a portion of the recess. The at least one beveled edge may have a reentrant surface. At least a portion of the at least one beveled edge may be substantially planar and form an angle of greater than 45° with respect to the normal to the top surface of the joined sputtering target. The angle may be selected from the range of 45° to 60°.
The melted powder may include or consist essentially of the sputtering material, and may have been deposited via thermal spray. The tiles may consist essentially of the sputtering material. The sputtering material may include or consist essentially of a mixture or an alloy of at least two constituent materials. The melted powder may include discrete regions each substantially free of at least one of the constituent materials. The joined sputtering target may include at least one region at the interface in which at least two of the constituent materials are interdiffused. The constituent materials may include or consist essentially of Mo and Ti. A backing plate may be attached to the tiles. The melted powder may be in contact with the backing plate. At least a portion of the joined sputtering target may be substantially planar. At least a portion of the joined sputtering target may be substantially tubular.
These and other objects, along with advantages and features of the present invention herein disclosed, will become more apparent through reference to the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and may exist in various combinations and permutations. As used herein, the term “cold spray” refers to techniques in which one or more powders are spray-deposited without melting during spraying, e.g., cold spray, kinetic spray, and the like. The sprayed powders may be heated prior to and during deposition, but only to temperatures below their melting points. As used herein, the terms “approximately” and “substantially” mean±10%, and in some embodiments, ±5%. The term “consists essentially of” means excluding other materials that contribute to function, unless otherwise defined herein. Nonetheless, such other materials may be present, collectively or individually, in trace amounts.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
The backing plate or tube 130 may include or consist essentially of a metal such as Cu and/or Al, and may have a melting point below that of the material of tiles 110 and/or the material of regions 120, and may even have a melting point below the temperature that the sprayed material constituting regions 120 reaches during spray deposition (e.g., in cases where the backing plate or tube is attached to the joined target 100 after formation of regions 120). In some embodiments of the invention, particularly those in which the joined target is tubular, the backing plate or tube 130 may include or consist essentially of a metal such as stainless steel and/or Ti. The tiles 110 typically include or consist essentially of one or more metallic materials, e.g., Ti, Nb, Ta, W, Mo, other refractory metals, or composite materials (alloys or mixtures) such as Mo/Ti, W/Ti, Cu/W, etc. The regions 120 preferably include or consist essentially of at least one of the constituent materials of tiles 110. For example, the sprayed material in regions 120 may include or consist essentially of the same elemental metal as in tiles 110, one or more of the constituent metals of a composite tile 110 (e.g., a tile 110 may include or consist essentially of Mo/Ti, and the region 120 may include or consist essentially of Ti), or the same plurality of constituent metals of a composite tile 110, in the same concentration as in tile 110 or in a different mix of concentrations as in tile 110 (e.g., a tile 110 may include or consist essentially of 50% Mo and 50% Ti, and the region 120 may include or consist essentially of 40% Mo and 60% Ti). The tiles 110 and regions 120 preferably include or consist essentially of the same material(s) so that, when the joined target 100 is sputtered, the composition of the material sputtered from the target 100 is substantially constant across the dimensions of target 100 and as a function of sputtering time and/or lifetime (i.e., amount of utilization) of target 100.
As shown in
After rod 230 has been positioned to fill at least a portion of the gap 210, a material 250 is spray-deposited thereover to partially or substantially fill the recess 240. The sprayed material 250 is preferably deposited by cold spray, and thus includes or consists essentially of substantially unmelted powder, but in particular instances may instead be deposited by other spray-deposition methods such as plasma spray or other thermal spray techniques (and thus sprayed material 250 may include or consist essentially of substantially melted powder). The volume of spray-deposited material 250 present within the recess 240 typically forms a partial joint joining the two tiles 110. The amount of material 250 at the partial joint, enabled by the recess 240 at least partially formed by the bevel(s) 200, contributes to the strength of the joint and thus of the entire joined sputtering target after completion. The material 250 preferably includes or consists essentially of the material of tiles 110, or at least one constituent material of tiles 110 (for tiles 110 that are composites of multiple constituent materials), as described above in relation to
After spray-deposition of the material 250 to form the partial joint between the tiles 110, the rod 230 is removed from the tiles 110 and the material 250 by, e.g., mechanical force, grinding, and/or dissolution in an acidic agent. Preferably the entire rod 230 is removed, even if small portions of the material 250 and/or the tiles 110 are removed along with rod 230. As shown in
After formation of the joint 120, the joined target 100 (at least proximate the joint 120) may be heat treated for stress relief (e.g., to improve ductility) and/or to provide the joint 120 with a microstructure substantially equal to that of the joined tiles 110. For example, for tiles 110 including or consisting essentially of a mixture of multiple constituents, the microstructure of the tiles 110 may include interdiffused regions between regions corresponding to different constituents (as described in more detail below with reference to
In addition, the heat treatment may relieve residual stresses from the spray-deposition process. For example, in many cases, sprayed material melted during spraying tends to have tensile residual stress, while sprayed material that is not melted during spraying tends to have compressive residual stress. (For example, cold-sprayed Ta may have residual compressive stress of between 30 and 50,000 psi.) Such residual stresses may result in non-uniform sputtering rates from the target incorporating the sprayed material. In conventional (i.e., not incorporating sprayed material) targets, residual machining stresses frequently necessitate a costly burn-in period (i.e., sputtering away of the stressed surface layer) prior to sputtering with new targets. Embodiments of the present invention described herein facilitate the manufacture of joined sputtering targets and subsequent heat treatment prior to the target being joined to a backing plate. (The backing plate and the joining compound, e.g., In solder, typically have lower melting points and thus may not be able to withstand a heat treatment adequate to reduce or substantially eliminate residual stress from the target.) In this manner, the need for a burn-in period prior to sputtering from the joined target is reduced or substantially eliminated.
After formation of the weld bead 300, the remainder of recess 310 is partially or substantially filled via spray-deposition of the material 250, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments of the present invention, particularly those utilizing thinner sputtering-target tiles 110, the tiles 110 may be joined to form a joined target 100 utilizing welding (e.g., resistance seam welding) without material spray-deposited over the resulting welded joint. As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-described welding technique joins composite tiles 110 together via preferential bonding (via, e.g., at least partial melting and/or solid-state diffusion) of only one of (or less than all of) the constituents of the tiles, e.g., the constituent(s) having lower individual melting point(s).
As shown in
Various embodiments of the present invention incorporate annealing steps to strengthen any or all of (i) the original material matrix of the tiles 110, (ii) the spray-deposited joint 120, and (iii) the bonding region between the original tile matrix and the sprayed layer (i.e., the tensile strength across the interface between the original tile and the sprayed layer). The table below shows the increase in tensile strength in all three regions for two different anneal conditions, a 16-hour anneal at 700° C. and a one-hour anneal at 900° C. In these joined targets, which are formed of MoTi, the original tile matrix was formed by HIP and the sprayed layer was formed by cold spray.
As shown in the table, both annealing conditions significantly increase the tensile strength of the joined target in all three regions.
As mentioned above, the bevels 200 formed in tiles 110 to be joined may have any of a variety of shapes and make a variety of different angles with respect to the substantially planar top and/or bottom surfaces. (For tubular targets, the top and bottom surfaces are generally planar when viewed in cross-section, even though the surfaces themselves have curvature, as discussed above.)
As shown in the above table, generally the fracture strength of the joined target 100 increases with increasing bevel angle A. Moreover, failure was more likely to occur within the stronger sprayed joint 120 than only within the interfacial region as the bevel angle A increases. In these samples, the spray-deposited joint 120 was sprayed normal to the top surface of the target 100 (rather than to the surface of the bevel 200 itself); thus, fracture strength of the joint 120 increases as the spray direction approaches perpendicular to the surface of the bevel 200. Therefore, in various embodiments of the invention, at least a portion (and preferably an initial portion) of the spray-deposited layer joining the tiles is sprayed substantially perpendicular to the surface (or at least a portion thereof) of the bevel 200 formed in the tile 110. For example, a first portion of the sprayed layer 120 may be deposited in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the bevel 200, and a second portion may substantially fill the remaining recess and be sprayed substantially perpendicular to the top surfaces of the tiles 110 being joined. The first portion may have a thickness of, e.g., between 1 μm and 10 μm, or even between 10 μm and 100 μm, or even thicker than 100 μm. In various embodiments of the invention, the first and second portions of the sprayed layer 120 may be distinguished via examination of the microstructure of the sprayed powder. For example, when powder is deposited via cold spray, the powder particles tend to flatten on impact (having slowed from supersonic velocity) with the substrate, and the particles are flattened along the spraying direction. (That is, an initially spherical particle will be flattened such that its surfaces approximately parallel to the spraying direction are closer together than its other surfaces.
In another embodiment, the bevel 200 formed in a tile 110 to be joined may even have a slight concavity and may thus be more parallel to the top and/or bottom surfaces of the tile 110 in the proximity of the joining edge of the tile 110. In such embodiments typical spray deposition angles approximately perpendicular to the tile 110 top surface will be more perpendicular to the surface of the bevel 200 in the center of the joint 120 (i.e., the region of the joint 120 that tends to have the least mechanical strength), thereby strengthening the joint 120.
Various embodiments of the present invention utilize bevels 200 having reentrant surfaces to facilitate formation of stronger spray-deposited joints 120.
As shown, the use of reentrant bevel surfaces not only results in generally stronger joints, but also shifts the failure location from the weaker interfacial bonding region to within the bulk of the sprayed layer 120 itself and sometimes even into the matrix of one of the tiles 110. Thus, the reentrant surface 200, at least in some embodiments, shifts the region of peak stress of the joined tile 100 away from the weakest part of the joint to a region of more mechanical strength.
Tiled sputtering targets 100 with spray-deposited joints 120, as described herein, do not only meet the larger size requirements of many sputtering applications, but also facilitate greater material utilization during sputtering. In magnetron sputtering with a set of individual tiles, the magnetron generally needs to provide a fixed electric field for each tile. Because of the shape of the field, the erosion pattern takes on the form of a race track in the plate, where the edges and the center of the tile are sputtered little if at all, resulting in the utilization of only about 30% of the target mass. On the other hand, a large tiled sputtering target, as provided by various embodiments of the present invention, facilitates use of a sweeping magnetron that causes a more uniform, larger erosion pattern (akin to the shape of an empty bath tub), as a result of which up to about 60% of the target may be sputtered.
The terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms and expressions of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof. In addition, having described certain embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating the concepts disclosed herein may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as only illustrative and not restrictive.
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