Preparation of indium tin oxide targets with a high density and single phase structure by normal pressure sintering process

Abstract

The present work mainly describes the technology for preparing indium-tin oxide (ITO) targets by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) and normal pressure sintering process. ITO powders were produced by chemical co-precipitation and shaped into an ITO green compact with a relative density of 60% by CIP under 300 MPa. Then, an ITO target with a relative density larger than 99.6% was obtained by sintering this green compact at 1550°C for 8 h. The effects of forming pressure, sintering temperature and sintering time on the density of the target were investigated. Also, a discussion was made on the sintering atmosphere.

Solid state sintering of nano-crystalline indium tin oxide

“…Even higher densities could possibly be obtained by increasing the uniaxial pressure from 200 MPa to 300 MPa, leading to better packing of the green body. 15,37 The present findings clearly demonstrates that significant coarsening takes place at intermediate temperatures, especially in the case of ITO, and high heating rate during sintering is beneficial. However, too high heating rates have been reported to be undesirable due to socalled differential densification.…”

Microscopic Examination of Cold Spray Cermet Sn+In2O3Coatings for Sputtering Target Materials

“…They are more uniform promoting the films with lower resistivity [ 6 , 18 ]. However, ceramic oxide targets are prepared by hot pressing, where it is difficult to obtain uniform pressure across the target surface, leading to the problems of target warp or cracking [ 19 – 24 ]. What is more, such a target suffers from nonuniformity of density as well as nonuniformity of chemical and physical properties across the target body (caused by nonuniform distribution of tin ions and oxygen vacancies).…”

“…These nodules usually possess a shape of a hillock, cone, or pyramid and tend to grow as the deposition run proceeds. Formation of nodules affects sputtering process by changing sputtering rate, angular distribution of sputtered atoms, enhanced arcing, and process drift and destabilization, which in turn result in defects and lead to poor quality sputtered films [ 1 , 2 , 10 , 19 – 24 , 26 ]. As a result the deposition process has to be interrupted cyclically in order to clean the target surface from nodules and debris.…”

Investigate the relationship between densification and grain size of IGZO target by phase‐field simulation

“…In order to achieve high‐quality indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) films through magnetron sputtering, the IGZO target must possess a high level of purity, density, and a uniform fine structure 12,13 . The conventional techniques employed for the preparation of ceramic targets typically involve stamping, molding, hot isostatic pressing, and cold isostatic pressing (CIP) 14–17 . The density and sintering activity of green compacts, which are formed through molding and CIP, exhibit variations depending on the applied pressure.…”

“…12,13 The conventional techniques employed for the preparation of ceramic targets typically involve stamping, molding, hot isostatic pressing, and cold isostatic pressing (CIP). [14][15][16][17] The density and sintering activity of green compacts, which are formed through molding and CIP, exhibit variations depending on the applied pressure. Numerous studies have investigated the impact of green density on the densification process, with Bruch discovering a strong correlation between the densification rate of Al 2 O 3 during the middle and final stages of isothermal sintering and the initial green density.…”