Ion Beam Deposition (IBD)

Ion Beam Deposition is a versatile and flexible thin film deposition technique that offers reliable, high quality and high performance coatings, finding applications notably in infrared devices and high power lasers, for both R&D and the Production market.

The Ionfab^®, our ion beam system, is designed specifically to produce high-quality, high-density thin films with smooth surfaces and precisely-controlled thicknesses. System specifications allows independent control of beam energy and ion current density, enabling well-controlled and repeatable deposition process results.

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Key Benefits

Precise deposited thickness and fine control of film properties
Un-matched batch uniformity and process repeatability
Low operating pressure for higher mean free path and less gas scattering reduces porosity and included gas in deposited films
Film are denser with higher film purity and better control of stoichiometry
Substrate temperature can be controlled between 15°C and 300°C during deposition
Pre-clean capability for improved film adhesion
Ultra-smooth coating with low scattering, added film surface roughness ~Angstrom scale
Etch/pre-clean sources allows illumination of substrate during deposition for assist beam/plasma control of film properties (e.g. reactive deposition)
Relative angling of target/substrate and optional oscillation of these allows precise tuning of deposition profiles and properties that’s etch not dep

Hardware

	Ionfab
Ion deposition source	150mm
Deposited area	Up to 200mm
Number of targets	Up to 4 targets
Platen size	Up to 8 inch wafer
End product detection	Dual Xtal monitors or WLOM
Platen rotation	Up to 500rpm
Platen tilt angle	0º to 75º between beam and normal to substrate surface
Platen heat	Embedded heaters up to 300ºC
Platen cooling	Fluid coolant 5ºC to 60ºC with He or Ar backside gas for substrate cooling (up to 50Torr)
Assist or pre-clean source	150mm and 300mm RF ion source

How does IBD work?

A beam of energetic ions bombards and sputters material from a target, thereby forming a plume of material that gets deposited onto the surface of the sample. Ion beam deposited thin films layer properties, such as refractive index, absorption, scattering, adhesion and packing density, can be finely tuned by varying beam parameters such as beam flux and energy, platen orientation relative to incoming materials and gas flow.

Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) is one of three ways of depositing thin-film using Ion Beam Sputtering: IBD, RIBD and IBAD.

Reactive Ion Beam Deposition (RIBD): Reactive gases, such as N₂ or O₂ , are injected inside the chamber while the film is being deposited to adjust the stoichiometry of oxides or nitrides.

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD): An assist source can also be used in conjunction with the deposition source to modify the properties of the film as it’s growing. The same source can be used for pre-clean prior to film deposition to enhance adhesion.

Features

Deposition ion source: 15cm, 13.56 MHz driven
Gas inlet through source
Multiple targets, up to four, with shutter
Three grid set, molybdenum, to maximize deposition rate and film purity
Rotating and tiltable substrate holder with high-speed rotation (up to 500rpm) as an option (standard 20rpm)
In-situ monitoring of specific gas partial pressure and closed-loop feedback control capability for enhanced repeatability and fine control of thin film properties (e.g. VO_x)
Patented high speed substrate holder (up to 500RPM) equipped with a White Light Optical Monitor (WLOM) designed for very accurate in-situ optical film control, notably for high-power laser devices