Tellurium metal

Tellurium metal sputtering target is a key material that is widely used in semiconductor, electronics, optics and other fields by sputtering tellurium atoms and depositing them on the surface of the substrate to form a thin film by bombardment with a stream of ion beams in a high vacuum environment.

Characteristics

Appearance: silver grey with semi-metallic luster, silver-white metallic luster in crystal state.

Density: Theoretical density is about 6.25 g/cm3, high density is important for the uniform sputtering of atoms and the uniform deposition of thin films in the sputtering process.

Melting point: The melting point is 449°C. The relatively moderate melting point allows the target to maintain solid state stability during sputtering and to achieve sputtering of atoms at a certain energy level.

Thermal conductivity: The thermal conductivity is 1.97~3.0 W/m Kelvin, the size of thermal conductivity affects the heat transfer and temperature distribution of the target material during the sputtering process, which has a certain influence on the stability of sputtering and the quality of the film.

Atomic number and atomic weight: atomic number 52, relative atomic mass 127.6.

Chemical stability: Tellurium has certain chemical activity under certain conditions, but when used as a sputtering target, it can maintain good chemical stability under suitable sputtering environments (e.g., high vacuum, inert gas protection, etc.) to ensure that the purity and quality of the film will not be affected by chemical reactions with other substances during the sputtering process.

Purity characteristics: Usually the purity requirement is high, generally up to 99.99% or even 99.999%. High purity can ensure the purity of the sputtered tellurium atoms, so that the deposited film has good electrical and optical properties, and meets the high requirements of semiconductor, electronics, optics and other fields on thin film materials.

Crystal structure properties: Tellurium exists in two isotopes, crystalline and amorphous states. The crystal structure affects the sputtering direction and energy distribution of atoms during the sputtering process, which in turn affects the microstructure and properties of the film.

Sputtering rate: Under suitable sputtering conditions (e.g. sputtering power, sputtering air pressure, target base distance, etc.), tellurium metal sputtering targets have a certain sputtering rate, which ensures that a film of the required thickness is deposited within a certain period of time.

Sputtering uniformity: high-quality tellurium metal sputtering target should have good sputtering uniformity, so that the deposited film on the entire substrate surface thickness and performance distribution is uniform. This is closely related to the manufacturing process, crystal structure, surface flatness and other factors of the target.

Bonding characteristics: the bonding strength with the backing material (such as copper, aluminium, etc.) is also one of the important characteristics. Good bonding characteristics can ensure that the target will not be separated from the backing material during the sputtering process, which will affect the stability of sputtering and the quality of the film.

Applications of Tellurium metal

Solar cells:

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar cells: CdTe thin-film solar cells are one of the most important applications for tellurium metal sputtering targets. Highly efficient solar cells can be prepared by depositing CdTe material on a substrate to form a thin film through the sputtering process. This kind of cell has the advantages of relatively low cost and high conversion efficiency, and occupies a certain share in the solar cell market.

Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells: Although the main components are copper, indium, gallium and selenium, tellurium also plays a role in them. During the preparation of CIGS thin films, tellurium metal sputtering targets can be used for doping or assisted deposition to improve the performance of the film and increase the conversion efficiency of the cell.

Semiconductor field:

Integrated Circuit Manufacturing: In the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, tellurium metal sputtering targets can be used to deposit tellurium-related thin film materials that can be used as dopant, barrier, or insulating layers in semiconductor devices, which play an important role in the performance and reliability of the semiconductor devices. For example, tellurium can be used to prepare some special semiconductor alloy materials to meet different electronic property requirements.

Semiconductor memory devices: In some new types of semiconductor memory devices, such as phase change memory (PCM), tellurium can be used as a key storage medium material. By sputtering tellurium metal targets, tellurium-based thin films can be formed in memory devices, which utilise their phase change properties at different temperatures to store and read data.

Thermoelectric field: Tellurium is an element with good thermoelectric properties, and tellurium metal sputtering targets can be used to prepare thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric materials can directly convert heat energy into electricity, which has a wide range of application prospects in the fields of waste heat recovery and temperature difference power generation. Tellurium-based thermoelectric thin film materials prepared by sputtering process have high thermoelectric conversion efficiency and good stability.

Optical field:

Optical Coating: In the surface coating of optical devices, tellurium metal sputtering targets can be used to prepare thin films with specific optical properties, such as anti-reflective films and transmission enhancement films. These films can improve the transmittance of optical devices, reduce reflection losses and thus improve the performance of optical systems.

Infrared detectors: Tellurium has a high absorption rate and good photoelectric properties in the infrared band, so it can be used to prepare sensitive materials for infrared detectors. By sputtering tellurium metal target, a tellurium-based thin film can be formed on the surface of the detector, which improves the sensitivity of the detector’s response to infrared radiation and its detection accuracy.

Flat panel display: In flat panel display technologies, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), tellurium metal sputtering targets can be used to prepare electrode materials or functional films. For example, in OLED displays, tellurium-based thin films can be used as electron transport layers or hole blocking layers to improve the luminous efficiency and stability of the devices.