Vacuum Thin-Film Deposition 

Vacuum thin-film deposition is a critical process used in semiconductor manufacturing, MEMS fabrication, photonics, solar cells, and advanced materials research. Techniques such as sputtering, physical vapor deposition (PVD), and e-beam evaporation allow researchers to deposit precise metal, dielectric, and semiconductor films onto silicon wafers, quartz substrates, glass wafers, and sapphire wafers. High-purity thin films improve electrical conductivity, optical performance, adhesion, and device reliability for applications ranging from integrated circuits and RF electronics to sensors and photovoltaic devices.

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What Is Thin-Film Deposition?

Thin-film deposition is the process of depositing extremely thin layers of material onto a substrate surface. These films can range from a few nanometers to several micrometers thick and are widely used in semiconductor manufacturing, MEMS devices, solar cells, photonics, sensors, optical coatings, and advanced electronics.

Researchers commonly deposit thin films onto silicon wafers, glass wafers, quartz and fused silica substrates, sapphire wafers, and other materials to create conductive, insulating, optical, magnetic, or protective layers.

Types of Thin-Film Deposition

Thin-film deposition techniques are generally divided into two major categories:

  • Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)
  • Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) includes sputtering and e-beam evaporation, where material is physically transferred from a target source onto the wafer surface inside a vacuum chamber.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) uses chemical reactions of gases to form a thin film directly on the substrate. CVD is widely used for depositing silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, and other semiconductor materials.

Benefits of Vacuum Thin-Film Deposition

  • Excellent film uniformity
  • Precise thickness control
  • High-purity coatings
  • Improved electrical performance
  • Enhanced optical properties
  • Strong adhesion to wafer surfaces

Vacuum thin-film deposition is commonly used to create metal contacts, dielectric layers, optical coatings, barrier films, reflective surfaces, and conductive structures required for semiconductor device fabrication.

Applications of Thin-Film Coatings

Thin-film coatings are used throughout the semiconductor and research industries, including:

  • Integrated circuits (ICs)
  • MEMS devices
  • Photonic and optical devices
  • RF and microwave electronics
  • Solar cells and photovoltaics
  • Biomedical sensors
  • LEDs and laser diodes
  • Advanced materials research

UniversityWafer, Inc. supports research projects requiring sputtered metals, dielectric films, semiconductor coatings, and custom thin-film deposition services on silicon, quartz, glass, sapphire, and other substrate materials.

Get Your Thin-Film Deposition Quote FAST! Fill out the form below and receive pricing for sputtering, metal deposition, wafer coatings, and custom thin-film processing.





What Is Sputtered Metal Deposition?

Sputtered metal deposition is a vacuum thin-film deposition process used to coat semiconductor wafers, glass substrates, quartz wafers, and other research materials with thin layers of metal, dielectric, or semiconductor films. Sputtering is commonly used in microelectronics, MEMS, sensors, photonics, RF devices, solar cells, and thin-film research.

During sputter deposition, energetic ions strike a solid sputtering target inside a vacuum chamber. Atoms from the target are released and deposited as a thin film on the wafer surface. This allows researchers to create uniform coatings of aluminum, copper, nickel, titanium, chromium, silicon, germanium, and other materials.

Sputtered Films on Silicon, Quartz, and Glass Wafers

UniversityWafer, Inc. can provide sputtered films on silicon wafers up to 300mm in diameter. We can also support sputtered metal and dielectric films on non-silicon substrates, including quartz and fused silica wafers, glass wafers, sapphire, and other custom substrates.

Sputter deposition is an omni-directional coating process. Because of this, it is usually not the best choice for lift-off processing. If your project requires metal deposition for lift-off, e-beam evaporation may be a better option.

Cleanroom Sputter Deposition for Research

Our sputter process is designed for clean, repeatable metal and dielectric film deposition. Wafer processing can include an in-situ RF etch to improve film adhesion and support better ohmic contact to conductive layers. For aluminum and aluminum alloy sputtering, an HF dip may also be requested before deposition to improve contact between layers.

Researchers can request sputtered films for adhesion layers, conductive layers, barrier layers, seed layers, reflective coatings, contact metals, and dielectric thin films.

Common Metals Used for Sputter Deposition

  • Aluminum (Al)
  • Copper (Cu)
  • Nickel (Ni)
  • Titanium (Ti)
  • Chromium (Cr)
  • Tantalum (Ta)
  • Tungsten (W)
  • Molybdenum (Mo)
  • Gold (Au)
  • Silver (Ag)
  • Platinum (Pt)
  • Germanium (Ge)
  • Silicon (Si)
  • Graphite / Carbon (C)
  • Magnesium (Mg)

High-Purity Sputtering Targets

The following high-purity sputtering targets are available for vacuum thin-film deposition, semiconductor research, optical coatings, and wafer metallization projects.

Sputtering Target Purity Image
Gold (Au) Target 4N High purity gold Au sputtering target
Silver (Ag) Target 4N High purity silver Ag sputtering target
Platinum (Pt) Target 3N5, 4N High purity platinum Pt sputtering target
Aluminum (Al) Target 4N, 5N, 5N5 High purity aluminum Al sputtering target
Copper (Cu) Target 4N5, 6N High purity copper Cu sputtering target
Titanium (Ti) Target 2N7, 4N5 High purity titanium Ti sputtering target
Nickel (Ni) Target 3N5, 4N5 High purity nickel Ni sputtering target
Tantalum (Ta) Target 3N5, 4N5 High purity tantalum Ta sputtering target
Tungsten (W) Target 3N5 High purity tungsten W sputtering target
Molybdenum (Mo) Target 3N5 High purity molybdenum Mo sputtering target
Silicon (Si) Target 4N, 5N, 6N High purity silicon Si sputtering target
Graphite / Carbon (C) Target 4N, 5N High purity graphite carbon sputtering target
Chromium (Cr) Target 3N5, 3N8 High purity chromium Cr sputtering target
Magnesium (Mg) Target 3N5 High purity magnesium Mg sputtering target
Germanium (Ge) Target 5N, 6N High purity germanium Ge sputtering target

Need sputtered metal films or high-purity sputtering targets? Submit your wafer size, substrate material, target metal, film thickness, and quantity for a fast quote.

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