Publisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
Contamination from the gas source, target, or system can cause impurities to become incorporated in a sputtered film. These impurities can harm the sputtered film e.g., in terms of electromigration and microstructure properties. A custom-designed ultra-high vacuum sputtering system was constructed to study trace levels of background contaminants allowed by different pump combinations. Turbomolecular and cryogenic pumps each selectively aided by a LN2 trap and a titanium sublimation pump were used. Contamination was measured with RGAs at base pressures and at 1 mT. The main contaminants for the cryo-based system were air and hydrogen at ppb levels and for the turbo-based system were air and water at ppm levels. This was true at both high and low pressures. Also shown was the need for both open and closed ion source RGAs and the superior trace detection capability of the open source.Type
textThesis-Reproduction (electronic)
Degree Name
M.S.Degree Level
mastersDegree Program
Graduate CollegeElectrical and Computer Engineering