Building a sputtering tool with off the shelf components

Today’s economic challenges have increased research facilities and small startup companies need to bring more projects in house. The vacuum industry offers a large number of off the shelf components that can be configured to meet most coating requirements. Some basic parameters must be defined to assure success. Appropriate pump type and size along with viewing and monitoring techniques are vital to success. Proper placement of the sputtering sources relative to the sample, gas control and process temperature are also important to achieving a quality uniform coating. In this review we will cover how to define these critical items and build a complete sputtering tool from standard components. Performance will be evaluated for a number of common deposition materials including rate and uniformity.