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Home > Press > Stress-free path to stress-free metallic films paves the way for next-gen circuitry: Optimized sputtering technique helps minimize stress in tungsten thin films
(top left) An illustration of the HiPIMS process (top right) The energy distribution of tungsten ions arriving at the substrate over time. At short times, there are a large proportion of ions with high energy. (bottom) Stress-free tungsten films created with the selective pulsed bias technique. (a) Plan view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of the film; (b) a higher resolution image; (c) reconstructions of the selected area in (b) based on inverse Fourier transforms, with two regions magnified.
Sputtering Technique Helps Reduce Stress in Tungsten Thin Films azom.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from azom.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: (top left) An illustration of the HiPIMS process (top right) The energy distribution of tungsten ions arriving at the substrate over time. At short times, there are a large proportion. view more
Credit: Tokyo Metropolitan University
Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used high power impulse magnetron scattering (HiPIMS) to create thin films of tungsten with unprecedentedly low levels of film stress. By optimizing the timing of a substrate bias pulse with microsecond precision, they minimized impurities and defects to form crystalline films with stresses as low as 0.03 GPa, similar to those achieved through annealing. Their work promises efficient pathways for creating metallic films for the electronics industry.