PFI:AIR - TT: High-Rate High-Powered Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering (HPPMS) Prototype Development

这个PFI：空气技术转换项目专注于将物理气相沉积中使用的新磁场配置转换为用于多种应用的大型矩形阴极。TriPAC的磁布局很重要，因为它允许一种新型的高功率脉冲磁控溅射(HPPMS)达到与传统溅射源相同的沉积速率。该项目将产生更高质量的涂层(应力更小、密度更高、附着力更好)，广泛影响许多不同的行业和研究领域--从消费品(剃须刀片)到能源生产(光伏)、半导体(显示器)到装饰涂料(浴室水龙头)。这项创新的优势在于新磁场的产生方式，只使用永久磁铁，整个组件可以适应传统磁体组件所在的磁控管的标准设计。这些功能将允许在市场上轻松采用，并将允许以与目前使用的标准磁盘组相比具有成本效益的方式使用HPPMS。该项目在从研究发现转化为商业应用的过程中解决了以下技术差距。这种新的磁场拓扑比目前的磁场工作得更好，因为它允许等离子体从阴极进一步膨胀，并提供不那么陡峭的电位降。在这种新的电场取向下，与传统的磁场配置相比，电离溅射材料更直接地指向待涂覆的衬底，并用于更大数量的薄膜沉积。平均入射原子能量也增加了，进一步提高了薄膜的致密性，使HPPMS技术对薄膜涂层更具吸引力。此外，参与该项目的人员，包括本科生、研究生和博士后，将通过看到这项发明转化为商业产品来获得技术翻译经验。该项目与星火工业公司(Starfire Industries Inc.)和库尔特·J·莱斯克公司(Kurt J.Lesker Company)--该领域的一家大型领先公司--合作。Starfire Industries Inc.是一家专门从事弥合“死亡之谷”的小企业，将在研究实验室中工作的设计转化为可制造的产品。这一合作伙伴关系将使技术转化努力从研究发现转化为商业现实。

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating a new magnetic field configuration used in physical vapor deposition to large-scale rectangular cathodes used for many applications. The TriPAC magnetic arrangement is important because it allows a new type of high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) to achieve the same deposition rates as conventional sputtering sources. The project will result in a higher quality coatings (less stress, higher density, better adhesion) broadly impacting many different industries and research areas- from consumer items (razor blades) to energy production (photovoltaics) to semiconductors (displays) to decorative coatings (bathroom faucets). The advantage of the innovation is the way the new magnetic field is generated, using only permanent magnets, and the whole assembly can fit into the standard design of magnetrons where conventional magnet assemblies are positioned. These features will allow easy adoption in the market place and will allow HPPMS to be used in a cost-effective manner compared to the standard magnet packs currently in use. This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application. This new magnetic field topology works better than current magnetic fields because it allows plasma to expand further from cathode and provides a less steep potential drop. With this new electric field orientation, ionized sputtered material is more directed towards substrate to be coated and utilized for film deposition in larger quantities than with the conventional magnetic field configuration. The average incident atom energy is also increased, further improving film densification and making the HPPMS technique more attractive for thin-film coatings. In addition, personnel involved in this project, undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students, will receive technology translation experiences through seeing this invention turn into a commercial product.The project engages Starfire Industries Inc., a small business specializing in bridging the "valley of death" to take the design which works in the research lab and turn it into a manufacturable product, and the Kurt J. Lesker Company - a large leading firm in this area. This partnership will enable the technology translation effort from a research discovery toward a commercial reality.