Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, Vol.19, No.4, 1662-1665, 2001
Vacuum characteristics of sprayed metal films
The need to reduce particles in semiconductor equipment and data storage equipment is in high demand. In recent years, barrier and glue layers on shields have been used to reduce particles generated in physical vapor deposition equipment. For this purpose, spray coatings are applied to shields. Although the sprayed metal films are exposed to vacuum in a vacuum chamber, their vacuum characteristics have seldom been investigated. The conventional spray coatings are usually done under atmospheric conditions. In order to obtain a layer that has a better vacuum characteristic, spray coating in a chamber filled with an inert gas was developed. Outgassing characteristics of sprayed aluminum films and titanium films were investigated by using the conductance modulation method. A sprayed metal film produced in an inert gas system showed a lower outgassing rate than that produced in an atmospheric condition.