Arc and HIPIMS Plasmas for Thin Film Deposition André Anders, Professor of Applied Physics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, DE Director, Leibniz Institute of Surface Modification (IOM), Leipzig, DE Arutiun P. Ehiasarian, Professor of Plasma Science and Surface Engineering Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK Provide motivation for the use of plasmas in film deposition processes Understand the basics of plasmas, and especially condensable plasmas by arcs and HIPIMS Extend the fundamentals of conventional sputtering to high power impulse magnetron sputtering Provide examples of the implementation to film deposition, including film characterization and testing The course starts with a brief introduction to basic plasma and sheath physics, with emphasis on plasma generators including, but not limited to, sources for condensable (metal) plasmas and vapors. The operation of cathodic arcs will be contrasted with the processes in conventional magnetron sputtering. Those points are the foundation for understanding the time-dependent processes in pulsed magnetrons and pulsed substrate bias situations. Emphasis is put on the high pulsed power case, when significant ionization of the sputtered material occurs, leading to the new technology of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS). The ionization of sputtered atoms is considered for various target materials, and the role of self-sputtering and secondary electron emission is examined. This technology is seen as enabling for cost-effective self- ion etching and self-ion-assisted film deposition on relatively large areas or batches of substrates. The issue of power-normalized deposition rate is discussed. The course shows examples of arc and HIPIMS coatings such as complex nitrides for hard and wear-resistant coatings. The evolution of arc deposition and other ionized PVD techniques Advantages and disadvantages of unfiltered and filtered cathodic arc deposition Sputtering: An introduction to the relevant physics of plasmas and sheaths Introduction to High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering Characterization of HIPIMS systems: Electrical data and plasma diagnostics Comparison of arc plasmas and HIPIMS plasmas Ion etching and film growth; energetic condensation Interface engineering by using condensable plasmas Deposition and coatings by arcs and HIPIMS - Applications, deposition rates and economics Hardware and implementation This course is intended for engineers, scientists and students interested in Ionized PVD techniques. Course Materials Lecture notes will be provided.
Advanced Thin Film Characterization Ivan Petrov, Professor of Materials Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA and Linköping University, Linköping, SE Jörg Patscheider, Senior Scientist R&D, Evatec AG, Trübbach, CH Learn about the wide range of analysis techniques available Understand the basic principles of the analysis techniques Develop insight into the interpretation of the data Learn about strategies for choosing the best combination of techniques Technology Focus The course will outline strategies for most efficient applications on the methods for analysis and characterization of thin films and coatings in order to optimize synthesis processes. Characterization techniques will be compared and a sequence of their optimal use will be outlined. Surface, interface and bulk composition as well as phase and microstructure govern the properties of the materials. Deposition techniques and conditions influence the composition and microstructure. Thus materials characterization is a key step in achieving desired coatings function. Materials characterization is critical for understanding why coatings work or fail. The use of surface and thin film analysis techniques such as AES, XPS, SIMS and RBS used in the characterization of films and coatings will be reviewed. Methods of determining surface and interface composition and elemental distributions will be presented. A comparative evaluation of these analytical techniques in terms of sensitivity, depth resolution, chemical state identification, and spatial resolution will be discussed. The use of proximal probes such as AFM and STM to determine surface and film roughness and morphology will be highlighted. The characterization of crystallographic defects and microstructure of surfaces, interfaces, and bulk material using scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction, and X-ray diffraction will be presented. High-resolution composition analysis using energy dispersive, wavelength dispersive spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EDS, WDS, EELS) will be reviewed. The principles of these techniques will be reviewed and their application in thin film analysis will be illustrated with examples which relate to the materials and deposition process. The relative merits (strengths and weaknesses) of these techniques will be described along with guidelines for their use for specific applications. A strategy for choosing the best combination of techniques will be outlined. Who Should Attend This course is for individuals at all stages of their career who wish to get a systematic review of the large variety of characterization techniques and develop an understanding for their optimal use. Students, new engineers moving into this field, specialists wanting a broad overview and managers wanting to gain a better understanding will find this course material useful. Course Materials: Lecture notes will be provided.
Surface Engineering: Industrial Coatings and Technologies Aharon Inspektor, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Surface Engineering is a multidisciplinary process aimed to modify the surface for cost effective performance enhancement of the product; an integral part of industrial product design and manufacturing. Course objectives: Understand the principles and methodology of Surface Engineering Learn industrial aspects of Surface Engineering Learn to build functional surface solutions for product improvement The course will present the principles of Surface Engineering and discuss, in depth, the applications of Surface Engineering in the aerospace, the automotive, and the metal cutting industries. We will investigate key challenges in each of the targeted industrial sectors, follow the thinking-process of the product designers when faced with the challenge, and discuss the developed solutions. We will focus on the following topics: Physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coatings for cutting tools and wear parts: Coating design, preparation and functionality; Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC) for turbine blades and jet engines: Temperature control, materials limitations and surface architecture; Surface modification for Corrosion and Wear Protection: The little known industry with big impact on our daily life: substrate processing, surface protection and economics; Superhard Coatings and Diamond-Like-Coatings for the Automotive Industry: Time to discuss powertrains, friction, costs and solutions; Nanostructured coatings with tailor made properties: What does it mean for the industry? Challenges, applications and new trends; Students and young scientists who are interested in a comprehensive review of surface engineering. Managers, senior scientists, and new engineers will find this course particularly beneficial, offering useful perspective for current and future projects. Course Materials: Detailed course notes will be provided.
Nanomechanics and Tribology of Thin Films and Coatings Steve Bull, Professor, Cookson Group Chair of Engineering Materials University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Adrian Leyland, Senior Lecturer in Surface Technology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK Course objectives To understand the rationale for measuring coating mechanical properties independent of substrate and how coating microstructure affects such properties To learn measuring the elastic, plastic, and fracture properties of thin films and coatings. To understand the use of appropriate measurement techniques to monitor effects of stress generation and relaxation in coated systems To gain an appreciation of Coatings Tribology and coating/treatment selection for particular applications To understand how coating property data can be used to design better Surface Engineering solutions This course aims to give an understanding of the factors which control the mechanical properties of thin films and coatings and how these properties may be reliably measured. The differences between coating properties and those of the coating/substrate system (and the influence of micro-/nano-structure on wear and friction behavior) will be highlighted. The differences between mechanical property data used for design and that which can be measured by a simple test will be emphasised. Extraction of mechanical property data for thick coatings using conventional mechanical tests will be discussed as will difficulties in measuring submicron coatings by conventional test methods. A discussion on the use of indentation and scratch tests is followed by a review of instrumented indentation and how to extract reliable property data. The importance of the scale of the deformed volume with respect to the microstructural dimensions (and how size effects modify the data for small indenter penetrations) will be explained. The importance of mechanical properties and residual stress on coating adhesion will also be illustrated. Robust thin-film property data (such as Hardness and Elastic modulus, correctly extracted from instrumented indentation) can be used as design tools to optimize the coating/substrate system for different applications. A comprehensive overview of key tribological design criteria will be provided, including (for example) use of the H/E ratio as a mechanical design consideration for selecting appropriate coating and substrate pairings (including substrate pre-treatments, where needed). Practical examples and case studies will be used to exemplify Surface Engineering solutions to wear/friction issues. The importance of mechanical properties of coatings, interfacial regions, and coating/substrate systems Designed vs. measured properties in thin films and microstructure/mechanical property relationships Assessment of thick coatings using conventional mechanical tests Factors affecting indentation testing for thin film property assessment Measurement and assessment of factors affecting coating/substrate adhesion Coatings tribology considerations for wear and friction control Design criteria for substrate and coating/treatment selection Engineers, scientists, and students interested in mechanical property evaluation of coatings and the design of coatings and treatments to address issues of wear, friction and other functional property requirements Course Materials Course notes (PowerPoint files) and reference lists will be provided.
Physics and Chemistry of Plasmas for Thin Film Deposition André Anders, Professor of Applied Physics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, DE Director, Leibniz Institute of Surface Modification (IOM), Leipzig, DE Course materials are based on a course previously jointly taught with Professor emeritus Stan Vepřek, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany. Provide an introduction to plasmas, their basic properties and principles of generation. Understanding the fundamentals of discharges: direct current, pulsed, medium to radio frequency and microwave; effects of magnetic fields on charged particle motion and plasmas as a whole. Fundamentals of plasma chemistry in discharges used for the deposition of thin films. Kinetic and thermodynamic effect of the plasmas on a chemical heterogeneous system. Effect of bias on the properties of deposited films. The first part of the course will summarize the physical fundamentals of plasmas: definition, properties in nature and in the lab, and the means to measure plasmas (plasma diagnostics). We consider various types of discharges. Trapping of electrons by geometric means (hollow cathode effect) and by crossed electric and magnetic fields, as used in magnetrons, will be introduced. The sputtering magnetron is a central example due to its relevance, and very briefly we will touch dense plasmas made by HiPIMS and cathodic (vacuum) arc. Energy distribution functions for electrons and ions will be introduced and their role will be discussed in the context of plasma assistance to film growth. In the second part of the course we will discuss the effects of plasmas on the chemistry of a heterogeneous system as applied for the deposition of thin films. A weak plasma can activate a reaction which is thermodynamically possible without a plasma but kinetically hindered due to a high activation energy ( kinetic effect ). The high energy of an intense plasma can change the chemical equilibrium and make reactions to proceed which cannot occur without the plasma ( thermodynamic effect ). Both effects will be illustrated by particular examples from typical industrial plasma CVD & PVD systems. Ion bombardment of growing films can significantly influence the film properties, such as surface roughness, film density, internal biaxial stress, apparent hardness, and radiation damage, to mention only a few. The course provides an understanding of: The physics of ionization, leading to plasmas Plasma generation for coatings, and approaches to plasma measurements and control The kinetic effect of a weak plasma The thermodynamic effect of an intense plasma The variety of effects of ion bombardment on the growing film including self-bias for dc and rf discharges. Students, young and senior scientists, technicians and engineers who want to gain insight into plasma CVD and PVD. Course Materials: Lecture notes will be provided.
Thin Film Nucleation, Growth, and Microstructural Evolution Joe Greene, Editor-in-Chief of Thin Solid Films, the D. B. Willett Professor of Materials Science and Physics, University of Illinois, and Past Director of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA, the Tage Erlander Professor of Materials Physics at Linköping University, Sweden, and Chaired Professor of Materials Science at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Understand the primary experimental variables and surface reaction paths controlling nucleation/growth kinetics and microstructural evolution during thin film deposition. Develop an appreciation of the advantages/disadvantages of competing growth techniques. Learn how to better design film growth processes. Essential fundamental aspects, as well as the technology, of thin-film nucleation and growth from the vapor phase (evaporation, MBE, sputtering, and CVD) are discussed in detail and highlighted with "real" examples. The course begins with an introduction on substrate surfaces: structure, reconstruction, and adsorption/desorption kinetics. Nucleation processes are treated in detail using insights obtained from both in situ (RHEED, LEED, STM, AES, EELS, etc.) and post-deposition (TEM and AFM) analyses. The primary modes of nucleation include 2D (step flow, layer-by-layer, and 2D multilayer), 3D, and Stranski-Krastanov. (quantum dots and wires). The fundamental limits of epitaxy will be discussed. Experimental results and simulations will be used to illustrate processes controlling 3D nucleation kinetics, island coalescence, clustering, secondary nucleation, column formation, preferred orientation in polycrystalline films, and microstructure evolution. The effects of low-energy ion-irradiation during deposition, as used in sputtering and plasma-cvd, will be discussed with examples. The course provides an understanding of: the role of the substrate in mediating growth kinetics the nucleation process film growth modes epitaxy the development, and control, of film stress (strain engineering) nucleation and growth of strain-mediated self-organized structures polycrystalline film growth, texture, and microstructure evolution structure-zone models of film microstructure the role of low-energy ion/surface interactions during film growth the relationship between film growth parameters and film properties Students, scientists, engineers and technicians involved in deposition, characterization or manufacturing/marketing of thin film deposition equipment. Course Materials: Course notes with extensive reference lists provided.