DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES FOR THIN-FILM PASSIVE PARTS.

The methods described are divided into four basic classes vacuum evaporation, sputtering, oxidation, and vapor plating. Vacuum evaporation, normally carried out in a vacuum of 0.00001 to 0.000001 torr, utilizes various means to raise the temperature of a material to the point where thermal evaporation occurs, including resistance and induction heated sources, electron beam heating, and5 flash evaporation. Sputtering is normally carried out in a gas pressure of 2-10 x 0.01 torr. In contrast to vacuum evaporationx, the process involves the removal of cathode material by a stream of high velocity positive ions, and besides the classical method of cathodic or diode sputtering includes the more recent techniques of triode, reactive, and RF sputtering. The oxidation of metals by metal gas combination is another means of forming dielectric films. The preparation of metal oxides for thin-film circuitry application has included wet chemical anodization, thermal oxidation, and the relatively new process of plasmionic anodization. In addition, vapor plating processes are being developed and include the deposition of films by chemical decomposition or reduction. Author