A customer recently asked for a Carbon target appropriate for use in “High Power Pulse Magnetron Sputtering”
There are many forms of carbon sputtering targets, ranging from graphite to amorphous to Pyroletic to vitreous, but none are actually suitable for sustaining a high power density in the plasma for extended periods of time. The pulsed power supply being utilized will help to alleviate the poor electrical conductivity issue associated with carbon structures but it does nothing to help dissipate the heat generated at the target surface due to the exothermic momentum transfer between ions and atoms during the atomic bond breaking associated with the sputtering process . Although both the vitreous and Pyroletic carbon are slightly more conductive (both electrically and thermally), the significant cost increase associated with the production of these materials does not generally warrant the slight rate advantage when it comes to high volume thin film production.
