AJA ATC Orion-8 Sputter Deposition System
Description:
Deposit thin layers of material over a substrate using DC or RF Bias
Features:
- 7 magnetron sputtering sources
- 5 independent power generators (4x DC 1x RF)
- Vacuum load lock for fast sample load and extraction
- Reactive or inert gas lines to substrate
- Ultra High Vacuum-capable process chamber
UC Rate: $32/hour
External (Non-UC) Rate: $42/hour
Summary of Equipment
The Orion-8 UHV System is well-suited for thin-film physical vapor deposition. The tool can be used to deposit multi-layer systems of a vast array of compounds in a reactive or inert atmosphere. Thanks to the seven sources and five power supplies, it is possible to keep many materials in the chamber and reduce the time needed to pump down between experiments. The tool is equipped with a substrate heater and a dedicated RF source that can be used to clean the substrate prior to deposition.
Available Targets
Users may supply their own substrate and targets. Please contact us if you would like to request a target material that is commonly used in research applications.
Element | Name | % |
Cu | Copper | 99.999 |
Zr | Zirconium | GR702 |
Ti | Titanium | 99.995 |
Nb | Niobium | 99.95 |
Cr | Chromium | 99.95 |
W | Tungsten | 99.95 |
Ni | Nickel | 99.995 |
Al | Aluminum | 99.9995 |
Y | Yttrium | 99.99 |
C | Graphite / Pyrolytic Graphite | 99.999 |
Fe | Iron | 99.95 |
Ta | Tantalum | 99.95 |
Mo | Molybdenum | 99.99 |
Al2O3 | Aluminum Oxide | 99.99 |
SiO2 | Silicon Dioxide (Fused Quartz) | 99.99 |
ITO | Indium Tin Oxide (Indium Bonded to Cu) | 99.9 |
Many researchers are interested in Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) Deposition. Users may request a main chamber conditioning to achieve lower than 1E-8 torr base pressure for additional charge.
Facility users have achieved reactive sputtering using Nitrogen and Oxygen.
In Research
Influence of W content on microstructure and surface morphology of hard Ni-W films fabricated by magnetron co-sputtering
The researchers co-sputtered thin films of Nickel-Tungsten which varied in composition from pure Ni to pure W. The samples were characterized using XRD, EDS, SEM, AFM, and microindentation. The researchers showed that the crystal system was FCC and the hardness of the material was a function of tungsten content. At low W concentration, hardness tended to increase with higher at. % W. This effect was diminished between 40-55 at. % W. Hardness values of the alloy for W composition between 55%-80% were observed to be double compared to the lowest range, possibly due to dominance of a solid-solution hardened BCC phase.
Amir R. Esmaeili, Noshin Mir, and Reza Mohammad. Influence of W content on microstructure and surface morphology of hard Ni-W films fabricated by magnetron co-sputtering. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A 39, 2021
Sputtered Thin-Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Researchers at UC San Diego used the Orion system to produce a YSZ-based thin-film solid-oxide fuel cell. They characterized the system’s microstructure and found it exhibits fully dense electrolytes, fully dense interlayers, porous anodes, and porous cathodes. The cell performance was rated at high open-circuit voltages above 1.0V and good power density of 3.0 W/cm2 (650C) using hydrogen fuel.
Nguyen Q. Minh et al. Sputtered Thin-Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. ECS Trans. 103 67, 2021
Fabrication of an acetone gas sensor based on Si-doped WO3 nanorods prepared by reactive magnetron co-sputtering with OAD technique
Using an AJA sputter system, the researchers fabricated Si-doped WO3 nanorods to test their use as gas sensors for medical devices. The material in bulk is known to exhibit a change in resistivity when exposed to small amounts of acetone in the air. The group was able to form 1.43 wt% Si-doped WO3 with their published sputtering technique. They characterized the structure using XRD and FESEM. The response of the thin-film to 100 ppm Acetone was measured and considered suitable for non-invasive detection of diabetes.
Waraporn Sucharitakul et al. Fabrication of an acetone gas sensor based on Si-doped WO3 nanorods prepared by reactive magnetron co-sputtering with OAD technique. 2021 Mater. Res. Express 8 125702