Abstract

JARAMILLO-RAQUEJO, Daniela; PALACIO-ESPINOSA, Claudia Constanza  and  AGEORGES, Hélène. Plasma Spray Parameters of TiO₂ Targets Used in Magnetron Sputtering. TecnoL. [online]. 2020, vol.23, n.47, pp.135-155. ISSN 0123-7799.  https://doi.org/10.22430/22565337.1320.

The synthesis of thin films by sputtering requires the use of targets, which act as materials from which the coatings are made. This work is focused on the implementation of Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) for manufacturing TiO2 targets that can later be used in the deposition of TiO2 coatings by magnetron sputtering. Three commercial TiO2 powders, produced by Oerlikon Metco, were sprayed using different spray parameters to evaluate their effect on the microstructure (percentage of pores and cracks on the cross section) of the obtained TiO2 targets. The targets were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and image processing and used in sputtering deposition tests to estimate the deposition rate. The results enabled us to identify the variables with the most significant effect on the targets’ microstructure (in a decreasing order in terms of magnitude of the effect): ratio of plasma generating gases, stand-off distance, carrier gas flow rate, current in the electric arc, and particle size distribution of the raw material. The percentages of microstructural defects found during the tests ranged between 0.41 ± 0.30 % and 6.80 ± 2.03 %, which demonstrates the importance of controlling spray parameters in the manufacture of targets by this technique.

Keywords : Atmospheric Plasma Spray; target manufacturing; sputtering; porosity; rutile.

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