How Does Sputter Coating Work?

Sputter coating is a physical vapor deposition process used to apply a very thin, functional coating on a substrate. The process starts by electrically charging a sputtering cathode which in turn forms a plasma causing material to be ejected from the target surface.

How does sputter deposition work?

Sputtering is a plasma based deposition process in which energetic ions are accelerated towards a target. The ions strike the target and atoms are ejected (or sputtered) from the surface. ... These collisions cause an electrostatic repulsion which 'knock off' electrons from the sputtering gas atoms, causing ionization.

What is sputter coating used for?

Sputter coating prevents charging of the specimen, which would otherwise occur because of the accumulation of static electric fields. It also increases the amount of secondary electrons that can be detected from the surface of the specimen in the SEM and therefore increases the signal to noise ratio.