Author: SAM Sputter Targets

Stanford Advanced Materials (SAM) Corporation is a global supplier of various sputtering targets such as metals, alloys, oxides, ceramic materials.

How was niobium discovered? | History of Niobium

Last week, we talked about the discovery of Titanium, which raised many interest. So we decide to start a history column, aiming at introducing the discovery of different kinds of metals. If you are a metal lover or history lover, you can follow our website. For previous posts of this column please search the keyword “history”. So let’s get down to the point. Today SAM Sputter Targets will teach you the history lesson of Niobium.

niobium hostorySAM®Niobium, often found in the minerals pyrochlore and columbite, is a silver-gray, soft and ductile rare metal with high melting point. At normal temperature, niobium does not react with air, but it can directly combine with sulfur, nitrogen and carbon at high temperatures to form NbS2, NbN and NbC. Niobium does not react with inorganic acids or alkalis, and is insoluble in aqua regia, but soluble in hydrofluoric acid. Because of its good superconductivity, high melting point, corrosion resistance and wear resistance, niobium is widely used in steel, superconducting materials, aerospace, atomic energy and other fields.

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Application of molybdenum in metal smelting

Compared to metals such as titanium, aluminum and platinum, molybdenum does not seem to be as famous, but it is also a very widely used metal in our life. So in the next few weeks, SAM Sputter Targets will introduce different applications of molybdenum. If you are interested in metals, please follow us for subsequent updates. Today we will first introduce the application of molybdenum in metal smelting.

Molybdenum
Molybdenum

Steel

The main use of molybdenum is to produce various types of steel and alloys. The addition of molybdenum (mainly in the form of ferromolybdenum, molybdenum oxide and calcium molybdate) to a range of steels such as structural steel, spring steel, bearing steel, tool steel, stainless steel and magnetic steel can significantly improve the properties of steel. Molybdenum improves the hardenability, toughness and heat strength of steel and prevents temper brittleness. Molybdenum also improves the corrosion resistance of steel to certain media so that it does not pitting. The addition of molybdenum to the cast iron enhances the strength and wear resistance of the cast iron.

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How was titanium discovered? | History of Titanium

Titanium historySAM®Titanium is a metal element that is known as “space metal” because of its light weight, high strength and good corrosion resistance. The most common compound of titanium is titanium dioxide, and other compounds include titanium tetrachloride and titanium trichloride. At present, titanium is widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, marine and other fields. Its abundant reserves provide a resource base for the wide application of titanium – titanium is one of the most widely distributed and abundant elements in the earth’s crust, accounting for 0.16% of the crustal mass, ranking ninth. However, do you know how this magical element was discovered? Let SAM Sputter Targets give you a history lesson.

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How is tantalum used in phones?

We have talked about the Application of Tantalum Target in Thermal Inkjet Print Head and Copper Plating before, which rises your interest on this element. However, most people think thermal inkjet print and copper plating are far away from their life, thus are difficult to understand. So today, SAM sputter targets will talk about something that EVERYONE is familiar with—your mobile phones.

tantalum

Tantalum is a very important element in the electronic industry. And it is widely used in all kinds of electronic devices, such as phones and computers. The main use of tantalum materials in electronic products comes in the creation of tantalum capacitor. Tantalum capacitors have their unique advantages over other capacitors. They do not use electrolytes like ordinary electrolytic capacitors, making them ideal for operation at high temperatures. Solid tantalum capacitors have excellent electronic properties, wide operating temperature range, various forms and excellent volumetric efficiency.

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What is Copper Sulfide Sputtering target?

Copper sulfide is an inorganic compound with a chemical formula of CuS. It is dark brown and extremely insoluble. It is one of the most insoluble substances (second only to silver sulfide, mercury sulphide, palladium sulfide and platinous sulfide).

Copper Sulfide Sputtering target
Copper Sulfide Sputtering target

Copper sulfide sputtering targets can be used in the semiconductor industry for the fabrication of thin film deposition from different materials for processing of integrated circuits, fabrication of architectural window glass used for energy conversation, data storage, hybrid or microelectronics, photonics  and fabrication of CDS as well as DVDs. Copper sulfide sputtering targets have different and new-fangled dimensions and product geometries.

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What is ITO (indium tin oxide) Sputtering Target?

As its name suggests, ITO sputtering target mainly contains three elements of indium, tin and oxygen. More specifically, ITO sputtering target is a black-gray ceramic semiconductor (as shown below) formed by a series of production processes after indium oxide and tin oxide powder are mixed in a certain ratio, and then sintered in a high temperature atmosphere (1600 degrees, oxygen sintering).

ITO

As one of the most widely used transparent conducting oxides, Indium tin oxide (ITO) has good electrical conductivity and optical transparency. The transmittance and resistance of ITO are controlled by the ratio of In2O3 to SnO2, respectively, and the performance is usually best when SnO2:In2O3=1:9. The most common method for preparing ITO films is physical vapor deposition (PVD). To know more information about PVD technology, please read this article What are the uses of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating. And, to know more about how to produce ITO target, please read another article Four main molding methods for ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) targets.

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Working principles of a resistive touch screen and a capacitive touch screen

resistive touch screen and capacitive touch screenResistive screens and capacitive screens are the two main kinds of mobile screens on the market today. Generally speaking, resistive screen phones can be operated with a finger or a stylus; while capacitive screen phones can only be operated with fingers and cannot be operated with ordinary stylus, but we can use a dedicated capacitive screen stylus to substitute the finger to operate; while the resistive screen phone can be operated with a finger or a stylus. Why do they have such a difference? Is it related to their working principle? Let’s SAM Sputter Targets answer it for you.

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What is the difference between a capacitive screen and a resistive screen?

Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of contemporary society. You may use your mobile phone every day, but you don’t know about it. For example, the screens of a mobile phone are mainly divided into a resistive screen and a capacitive screen, but do you know the difference between these two kinds of screens? If you do not know the answer, let’s SAM Sputter Targets answer it for you.

screen

Simply speaking, capacitive screen phones can only be operated with fingers and cannot be operated with ordinary stylus, but we can use a dedicated capacitive screen stylus to substitute the finger to operate; while  resistive screen phones can be operated with a finger or a stylus. From this point of view, some people may think that the latter has an advantage. However, although the capacitive screen can only be operated with a finger, it can largely protect the screen and reduce false touches. Therefore, the two screens actually have their own advantages. Let’s then take a look at their strengths and weaknesses.

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Manufacturing process of semiconductor wafer

Semiconductor wafers are the basic material for manufacturing chips. The most important raw material for semiconductor integrated circuits is silicon, which is widely found in rocks and gravel in the form of silicate or silicon dioxide in nature. The manufacturing process of semiconductor wafers/silicon wafers can be divided into three basic steps: silicon purification, monocrystalline silicon growth, and wafer formation.

Silicon purification

The sandstone material is placed in a 2000 °C electric arc furnace which has a carbon source. At high temperatures, the silica in the carbon and in the sandstone undergoes a chemical reaction (carbon is combined with oxygen, leaving silicon) to obtain pure silicon having a purity of about 98%, also known as metallurgical grade silicon. Continue reading “Manufacturing process of semiconductor wafer”

Differences between vacuum evaporation and sputter coating

It is well known that vacuum coating has two common methods: vacuum evaporation and sputter coating. However, many people have doubts about the difference between evaporation and sputter coating. Let SAM Sputter Targets answer it for you.

sputter coating3First, let’s take a look at the definition of these two words. The vacuum evaporation is carried out by means of resistance heating, electron beam or laser bombardment in an environment with a vacuum of not less than 10-2 Pa, and the evaporation material is heated to a certain temperature to evaporate or sublimate a large number of molecules or atoms, and then directly deposited on a substrate to form a film. Continue reading “Differences between vacuum evaporation and sputter coating”