Palladium metal

Palladium metal sputtering target is a material used in the sputtering process in physical vapour deposition (PVD). It consists primarily of high-purity palladium metal in the form of a flat plate, usually round or square in shape, but also in other special shapes. Its size varies according to the requirements of the sputtering equipment, with common diameters or side lengths ranging from a few inches to a dozen inches.

Properties

Density and hardness: Palladium has a high intrinsic density of about 12.02 g/cm³, which gives the sputtering target a certain weight and allows it to be placed stably on the target base during the sputtering process. Its moderate hardness facilitates processing into precise shapes and sizes, and it can withstand the bombardment of the ion beam during sputtering without being easily deformed.

Thermal conductivity: It has good thermal conductivity, when the energy of the ion beam is converted into thermal energy during the sputtering process, it is able to conduct the heat out effectively, preventing local overheating leading to degradation or damage of the target material.

Chemical stability: Palladium sputtering targets are chemically stable at room temperature, and in most gas environments (e.g. argon, nitrogen and other sputtering gas environments), they can keep their chemical composition unchanged. It has some resistance to some corrosive gases, but chemical reactions may occur in some strongly oxidising or acidic environments.

Reactivity (during sputtering): In the sputtering process, palladium atoms can be readily sputtered from the surface of a palladium metal target when high-energy ions bombard the surface of the target, due to the fact that the bonding energies between the palladium atoms are broken by the action of the high-energy ions. These sputtered palladium atoms are highly reactive and can be rapidly deposited on the substrate material and react with the substrate or other deposited atoms to form a thin film.

Manufacturing process
Raw material purification: The raw palladium metal is first purified by removing impurities through a series of chemical and physical methods (e.g. electrolytic refining, vacuum melting, etc.) in order to achieve high purity.

Forming: The purified palladium metal is forged, rolled, cut and other processing techniques to make the required shape and size, and to ensure that the internal structure of the target is uniform and free from obvious defects, such as pores and cracks.

Surface treatment: Sometimes it is also necessary to treat the surface of the target, such as polishing, cleaning, etc., in order to remove oxides and other pollutants on the surface, and to improve sputtering efficiency and film quality.

Application

Electronics industry: In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, it is used to deposit palladium metal films as a conductive or contact layer. For example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs), palladium films can be used as a metal interconnect layer to connect different components in the chip and improve signal transmission efficiency. It can also be used to manufacture electrode materials for capacitors and resistors in electronic components to enhance the performance of the components.

Optical field: Used in the manufacture of optical films, such as in some optical lenses, filters and other products, the deposited palladium film can play a role in reflecting, refracting or absorbing specific wavelengths of light, thus improving the performance of optical devices.

Decorative and Protective Coatings: Sputtered palladium films can provide an attractive and durable coating with a metallic lustre on high-grade decorative materials or surfaces that require corrosion and abrasion resistance.