Zirconium Oxide

Zirconium Oxide sputtering target is a kind of ceramic target with zirconium oxide as the main component, which has the characteristics of high melting point, high hardness, and good chemical stability, and is used in magnetron sputtering and other coating technologies to prepare high-quality thin film materials.

Characteristic

Chemical formula: ZrO2

Melting point: approx. 2700°C.

Boiling point: about 4300℃.

Density: Theoretical density 5.89g/cc.

Hardness: Mohs hardness is about 7.

Chemical properties: high chemical stability, at room temperature is not easy to react with water, acid, alkali and other substances, but at high temperatures, strong acid and alkali and other specific conditions may be chemical reactions.

Electrical properties: it has certain electrical conductivity under certain conditions, and its specific electrical performance parameters will vary due to purity, preparation process and other factors. Generally speaking, zirconium oxide has a relatively high resistivity, but its electrical conductivity can be effectively improved by means of doping and other means to meet the requirements of magnetron sputtering and other electrically driven sputtering process.

Optical properties: zirconia film has good optical transmittance and refractive index, can be used for the preparation of optical films, permeation enhancement film, interference film, etc., its transmittance in the visible range is high, and the refractive index can be adjusted by adjusting the film preparation process and parameters to meet the needs of different optical applications.

Crystalline phase structure: Zirconium Oxide has three crystalline phases, namely monoclinic phase (below 1170°C), tetragonal phase (1170°C-2370°C) and cubic phase (above 2370°C). The physicochemical properties of different crystalline phases of ZrO₂ are slightly different, and ZrO₂ can be stabilized in the cubic phase at room temperature by doping, etc., which can lead to better performance.

Applications of ZrO₂

Electronic information field:

Semiconductor manufacturing: Zirconium Oxide can be used in the semiconductor chip manufacturing process, can be used to deposit high dielectric constant film, as the gate insulating layer or capacitor dielectric layer, etc., which can help to improve the performance of the semiconductor device and integration.

Display technology: commonly used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays (LCD), organic light-emitting diode displays (OLED), etc., can be used as one of the materials for transparent conductive films, such as adding zirconium oxide to ITO films, which can improve the performance of the film and increase the contrast, brightness, and responsiveness of the display.

Photovoltaic industry: can be used in the preparation of thin film solar cells in the transparent conductive oxide film, such as in CIGS, CdTe and other thin film solar cells, help to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency and stability of the battery.

Optical field:

Optical coating: can be used to prepare a variety of optical films, such as transmittance enhancement film, reflective film, interference filters, etc., can effectively control the propagation and reflection of light, improve the performance of optical components, widely used in camera lenses, telescopes, microscopes and other optical instruments.

Laser technology: In laser devices, it can be used as coating material for laser reflector, output window and other components, which can withstand high power laser irradiation and have good optical performance and thermal stability.

Energy field:

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC): Zirconium Oxide As part of the electrolyte material or electrode material, zirconium oxide has good ionic conductivity and chemical stability, and can effectively conduct oxygen ions at high temperatures to improve the performance and efficiency of the fuel cell .

Lithium-ion battery: It can be used to prepare cathode materials or electrolyte additives for lithium-ion batteries, which helps to improve the charging and discharging performance and cycle life of the battery.

Medical field:

Dental materials: Zirconium Oxide can be used in the manufacture of dental restorations, such as crowns, bridges, etc. It has good biocompatibility, hardness and wear resistance, and can be tightly bonded with human dental tissues to improve restorative effects and service life.

Medical devices: preparing zirconia film on the surface of medical devices can improve the surface hardness, lubricity and antibacterial properties of the devices, reducing the friction between the devices and human tissues and the risk of infection.

Industrial field:

Wear-resistant coatings: Zirconium Oxide can be used to prepare wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant zirconium oxide coatings on the surface of mechanical parts, which can improve the service life and performance of the parts, and is widely used in automobile engines, aviation engines, cutting tools and other fields.

Thermal barrier coatings: zirconia thermal barrier coatings are prepared on the surface of high-temperature parts, which can effectively reduce the surface temperature of the parts and improve their high-temperature resistance and thermal efficiency, and are commonly used in aerospace, energy power and other fields of engine blades, combustion chambers and other parts.

Decorative coatings: can be used to prepare a variety of decorative films, such as gold, silver and other colored films, used to decorate watches, jewelry, cell phone shells and other items, with good decorative effect and wear resistance.