Waldemar Schönberger, Wahyu Diyatmika, Markus Berendt, Vladimir Kondratev, Frank Benecke, VON ARDENNE GmbH, Dresden, Germany
HiPIMS allows us to achieve new coating properties or improve the coating process compared to other technologies. These properties are especially evident in: • the structure of the deposited layer
• the chemical composition in reactive deposition and
• the geometric distribution of the coating on the surface, including surfaces with complex geometry. A vivid example is the rapid transition of the semiconductor industry from planar structures to advanced 3D structures with many TSVs and trenches.
Despite these advantages, the technology application is often confined to scientific laboratory scales. The process implementation in industrial scale is limited to a few applications such as wear-resistant coatings. We attribute these limitations to the lack of proven technical solutions for large-scale applications, process-related risks, and challenges arising from the gap between laboratory setups and industrial-scale components.
VON ARDENNE is actively working on industrial applications or already uses HiPIMS in machines intended for use in the industries semiconductor, precision optics, large area coatings, and green energy.
Potential users of HiPIMS on large area substrates would need to clarify the following questions:
• Are the laboratory results directly transferrable to the larger machine dimensions and which technical parameters such as pulse current, target size, and average power can be used to scale-up and obtain the desired coating properties?
• Are HiPIMS-ready up-scaled technical solutions available - e.g. power cables, connectors, and large scale rotatable magnetrons including end blocks?
• How can the experience from previously used technology (e.g. DC, pulsed DC) be used in optimization of the HiPIMS process?
• Which new process parameters need to be adjusted in the process and how are they best implemented in the HMI software and into automated control algorithms to achieve long-term stable process?
• What new potential risks and effects arise at large scales, that weren’t in focus or not visible at all in laboratory, e.g. arcing, defects, changes in the coating homogeneity and long-time drift effects?
Most of the questions above require practical experience with HiPIMS processes on industrial-scale equipment and can hardly be answered by theoretical contemplation. Simulation tools help significantly to clarify some effects, but don’t give all answers. In this talk, we’ll share our experience implementing HiPIMS on a large scale up to 2450 mm rotatable target and the technical solutions required for the realization of this process as well as applications that require the usage of the HiPIMS at these dimensions.