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At TRUMPF Huettinger, Inc., we are excited to showcase our latest innovative product lineup at the SVC TechCon 2024. Our offerings encompass a wide range of cutting-edge solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of the vacuum coating industry. We strive to provide a comprehensive range of standard match boxes and generators for your sputtering applications. Last year’s breakout products, the LHF to VHF generators enabled us to offer a variety of frequencies and power levels to aid our customers in their most challenging processes. Along with our continual enhancements in Highpulse power products with versatile versions that combine DC, Monopulse, and Bipolar Pulse all into a single product, provides our customers with unparalleled flexibility and performance. In addition, our complete RF+DC combination products enables lower sputtering voltages and reduced substrate temperatures that deliver exceptional results for our customers. This year, our topics of discussion will be centered on the following:

 • Low Power DC and DC Pulsed generators
• RF Switch Topology (3D Coupler and 50 Ohm absorber)
• Innovative Matching Network Algorithm
• HPPMS with Superimposed DC
• 3rd Generation High Power 10kW RF Generators

We invite you to explore our innovative product lineup at the SVC TechCon 2024 and experience the TRUMPF Huettinger difference firsthand.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0058

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technology has been used for decades to control deposition rate and thickness for the most complex processes seen in the ophthalmic, optical, display, and solar markets. INFICON has recently made a new advancement in QCM technology to address a problem seen across all of these industries related to QCM temperature effects. Thermal shock can cause QCM thickness errors which can decrease yield and increase manufacturing costs if temperature is not accounted for. A complete QCM system consists of a thin film deposition controller, oscillator, and sensor which houses the QCM and provides the electrical connection. Quartz is a piezoelectric material, meaning when a voltage potential is applied across the two electrodes of the quartz crystal, the quartz will physically deform. With the help of an oscillator, the QCM can resonate at its fundamental frequency and be measured using a thin film deposition controller. As material is deposited onto the surface of the QCM, the mass on the crystal increases and the frequency decreases proportionally.
Temperature also impacts the frequency measurement and can create false mass readings. Thin film deposition controllers currently on the market have no good way of distinguishing frequency shifts related to mass from frequency shifts related to temperature, resulting in thickness errors and poor PID control. This can be detrimental to today’s complex coating processes due to the low deposition rates and incredibly thin layers required. Thermal shocks can occur at any point in a deposition process and can cause unnecessary PID-loop correction, triggering non-uniform deposition in respect to time. This means that the quality throughout the bulk of the material is inadequate. For very thin films, the thickness termination may not be at the real intended thickness because the process time window is small compared to the time allowed for a QCM to recover from a thermal shock event.
INFICON has patented a new temperature compensation technique for SC-cut crystals to remove the effects of temperature variation on the QCM without the need for additional hardware or custom and expensive sensors. INFICON temperature compensation is also instantaneous unlike competing methods that use a thermocouple embedded inside the QCM sensor. By removin temperature from the thickness calculation, the thickness accuracy and deposition rate stability can significantly improve. Traditionally, AT-cut crystals have been used for most coating applications, however there are two additional advantages of SC-cut crystals compared to AT-cut. SC-cut crystals have 100 times reduced sensitivity to acceleration induced frequency changes compared to AT-cut. For tools that have QCM sensors mounted on robotic arms, acceleration jerks can induce a frequency change impacting the rate measurement. The second benefit to using SC-cut crystals is that SC-cut crystals have lower rate noise compared to AT-cut crystals when exposed to organic deposition material. Lower rate noise allows for better PID control with higher measurement accuracy to support technology transitions across several industries and meet the sensitivity and precision requirements of the latest product generations.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0057

The critical path item in many vacuum coating systems is the vacuum chamber. Vacuum chambers seem complex because numerous details must be exactly right such as:

• Material stresses,
• Deflections,
• Surface finishes,
• Critical dimensions, and
• Helium leak-tight seals and welding.

We are introducing Magnum Steel Works—the new vacuum chamber manufacturer who is simplifying this process. With lower prices, shorter lead times, and the high-quality workmanship a vacuum chamber requires, our process is designed to help our customers get a cost-effective chamber on their floor in record time. Magnum Steel is here to keep it simple for you.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0056

The continuous advancements in power electronics components lead to faster event responses. In turn, the advantages are higher accuracy and lower defects in layer stack and process controls. These are all welcomed in our world as we continuously work toward stability and repeatability in our individual coating competencies. Higher-speed internal components have resulted in faster arc detection, faster arc response time, and lower, adjustable arc energies. Whether you are using DC, pulsed DC, bipolar pulsed DC or RF, we must wrestle with the reality of power supply generational discontinuation. High-power sinewave technologies such as Advanced Energy's Crystal^® have become obsolete, presenting the challenge to learn new process parameters for different materials. However, new AE technology advancements and application support can help you plan, test, qualify and integrate the latest power supply technologies in your systems. This presentation highlights our solutions.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0053

This work's main aim was to develop the technology of thin hafnium oxynitride layers employing the High-Impulse Power Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) method with improved electrical parameters. The optimization procedure was implemented using the Taguchi orthogonal tables. During the optimization procedure, the parameters of examined dielectric films were monitored employing optical methods (spectroscopic ellipsometry and refractometry), electrical characterization (C-V and I-V measurements of MOS structures), and structural investigations (AFM, XRD, XPS). The thermal stability of fabricated HfO_xN_y layers up to 800 °C was also examined. The presented results have shown the correctness of the optimization methodology as HfO_xN_y layers formed using optimal HiPIMS process are characterized by improved electrical parameters, which is revealed in lower flat-band voltage (Vfb) values, the disappearance of frequency dispersion of C-V characteristics, reduced effective charge (Qeff/q), and interface traps (Ditmb) densities of examined MOS structures. It is worth underlying that the improved electrical properties can correlate with the lower nitrogen content in the layer bulk and at the semiconductor-dielectric interface. Moreover, the superior stability of HfO_xN_y layers up to 800 °C was proved, and no deterioration of electrical properties or surface morphology has been noticed. However, a slight increase of crystalline phase in the layer bulk was observed. The examinations of HfO_xN_y layers revealed comparable electrical properties and higher immunity to thermal treatment of dielectric films formed using HiPIMS compared to the standard Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering technique. Finally, we successfully applied HiPIMS HfO_xN_y films as gate dielectric films in MOSFET devices. The fabricated structures revealed improved electrical properties compared to FET structures based on silicon dioxide (SiO₂) gate dielectric layers.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0015

Almost all objects around us in daily life require metal machining for their production. This includes cars, trains, and aircrafts. Almost any product used in engineering, medical implants such as hip joints and even the housings of our cell phones are milled to shape. Despite all additive manufacturing activities, classical machining centres using cutting tools made of cemented carbide stand for >95% of the market. As a rule of thumb, a milling centre utilizes 30% of its maximum power consumption just when switching the unit on. This considerably high energy share is required for running the drives systems and their cooling, for the pumps and filtration units of the coolant.
Clear message is to increase the number of parts machined per time to reduce the energy footprint per part. This is where coating technology comes into the picture: HSC (high-speed cutting with highest cutting speed) and HPC (high performance cutting with maximum feed and chip thickness) both depend on the next generation coating technology for carbide cutting tools.
The trend to dry machining without oil in the coolant liquid makes the already extreme temperature in HSC processes due to the extraordinarily high cutting speed even more problematic. Doping an AlTiN chemical composition with Si is known to improve the resistance against wear and oxidation. HiPIMS overcomes the brittleness of traditional TiSiN coating by a fine-grained morphology for a fully new level of toughness of super hard TiAlSiN coatings. With HiPIMS, the energy per pulse can be finely tuned to influence the physical properties of the film independently from its chemical composition. Increasing the cutting speed directly increases the metal removal rate and thus the number of parts machined per time. The avoidance of oil makes high-speed cutting even more sustainable compared to conventional cutting. A case study of machining medical implants from CrCo will be presented. SteelCon® – a HiPIMS TiAlSiN – allows milling of this highly abrasive material with so far unachieved cutting speeds. Another HiPIMS plus: medical implants always require a perfect surface. HiPIMS is based on sputtering and the 100% droplet-free nature of the technology gives smooth coatings.
The other strategy for sustainable machining is high performance cutting. Such heavy-duty machining for railway tracks and pipeline tubes is characterised by extremely high cutting forces and mechanical loads on the cutting edge. To cope with this, the coating should be as thick as possible. Traditional CVD technology can make thick coatings, however with high tensile stresses, which makes it unsuitable for high performance milling. Important in today’s discussion about sustainability: HiPIMS is a clean process using solid target materials and inert gases only. Very different from CVD systems which rely on toxic precursors. The HiPIMS innovation is stress management by synchronising the HiPIMS pulses on the cathodes with the substrate bias. A case study of FerroCon^®Quadro as a 12 μm PVD coating illustrates how HiPIMS moves the frontiers of the possible in tool coatings. Applications such as the milling of crank shafts, railway tracks and heavy duty turning show the enormous performance benefit of very thick PVD coatings for cutting tools. 12 μm PVD work, in HiPIMS. HiPIMS coatings are a contribution to sustainable machining by improving the energy efficiency of the metal cutting process and by the clean sputtering technology itself.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0014

Our engineering team, with over 40 years' experience, is offering custom made, deposition systems including but not only: Sputtering, EB gun, Thermal, Ion Beam, Plasma, ALD – PLD and Low Temperature organic materials. With reputation for excellence - hundreds of satisfied customers in the high vacuum and ultra-high vacuum industry, research labs and scientific community around the world.
VST developed cluster tools with robot sample transfer often integrated with Inert Gas Glove Box and encapsulation for OLED processes.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0055

Vacuum coating from roll to roll is an established technology in the web processing industry. The applications are manifold. Complex multilayer stacks can be applied with R2R coating systems equipped with a precisely defined set of e.g. magnetron sputter sources. Examples of applications include low emissivity layer stacks for energy control, anti-reflective and decorative coatings, or electronic applications such as solar and electro chromatic applications or flexible printed circuit boards. Architectural, transportation, consumer goods and other industries benefit from this wide range of applications and coating equipment.
A number of these processes require high productivity to produce a high volume of product at competitive costs. This presentation will highlight the automation and modularity of the FLC1600 R2R system to increase productivity. One, two or more main coating modules can be integrated. The modules can be arranged and configured to increase the versatility of the process or the productivity of the system. The applicability of the system platform for high product versatility and productivity will be demonstrated. Furthermore, productivity is gained by increasing the coating speed. With modern process automation, oxidic processes are set stable at a high deposition rate. The presentation introduces the use of the Plasmaster program for R2R coating automation of flexible products.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0060

As greater demands are placed upon manufacturing, coatings by physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma-assisted CVD (PACVD) are in many cases essential to increase productivity and to ensure excellent product quality while minimizing production downtime and scrap rate in forming and molding tool applications.
CrN coatings with and without the addition of tungsten remains an excellent choice for many forming applications. However, the wear properties at elevated temperatures under certain tribological conditions, such as observed in high temperature Pin on Disking (POD) Testing can be improved.
One approach that can be used to improve the high temperature tribology of CrN is to deposit a Cr_xO_y or (CrW)_xO_y top layer over CrN or CrWN, respectively.
This paper details the investigation of the tribological properties at room temperature, 400°C, 600°C and 800°F of CrN + Cr_xO_y as well as CrWN + (CrW)_xO_y deposited in commercial PVD arc chambers. The industrial applications where such coatings have benefited are in certain hot forging, die casting, and plastic molding applications.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0042

With a goal to assess the efficiency of physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating defect sealing by atomic layer deposition (ALD layers, we investigated the corrosion resistance of PVD TiN and TiN + ALD Ti-O (amorphous and anatase) layers in Hank’s solution. The corrosion experiments were conducted on circular areas with 2 mm radius, employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PD) measurements. To identify defect types, quantities, and their dimensions, confocal and tactile profilometry were performed before and after the corrosion tests. Results revealed that corrosion resistance of layers is influenced by the quantity of through-thickness “critical” defects. The above-coating height of these defects is approximately half of the coating thickness, and their diameter is proportional to the coating's thickness. With an increase in their quantity the corrosion resistance of a coated system decreases. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the focused ion beam (FIB) milled cross-sections revealed a uniform surface coverage by both ALD layers and effective defect sealing. Therefore, application of ALD layer over the PVD coatings emerges as a highly effective strategy for enhancing their corrosion resistance. Additionally, SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis of a hybrid layer with anatase TiO₂ revealed formation of protruding nano-features on the surfaces. Such features have promising effects on the bone-cells activity and increased implant osseointegration.

https://doi.org/10.14332/svc24.proc.0006