Ion beam sputtering method and its applications

Ion beam sputtering is a powerful method for the production of thin films of nuclear targets and refractories. Sputtering by a well collimated high intensity beam of 10 - 15 kV noble gas ions in a vacuum of 1 x 10-4 Pa also makes the method applicable to very high melting point materials and small amounts of enriched isotope. At favorable substrate geometries over 70% of collection efficiency has been obtained. Both supported and self-supported films have been made and the purity of the targets depends mainly on the purity of the target materials. The stoichiometry of the composite films also depends on the stoichiometry of the original target materials. The method has proved to be excellent for depositing films of nuclear target materials by comparing with electron beam evaporation films. (author)