HARD COATINGS FOR OPTICAL APPLICATIONS - … · • Deposition Process ... • GaN on Si • GaN on GaN • DBR ... 2 Hard coatings for optical applications Diamond-like carbon: IR

HARD COATINGS

FOR OPTICAL APPLICATIONS

Dr. Heiko Plagwitz, 17.10.2017

Workshop 10 IPL PZ Hard-Coatings

1. Welcome to Evatec: Company overview

2. Hard coatings for optical applications

AGENDA

2Workshop 10 IPL PZ Hard-Coatings

OUR HISTORY

1850 1946 1967 1976 1993 2000 2004 2006 2009 2012 2015 2016


70+ years track record in capital

equipment industry

TEL Solar

TEL Solar IP

3

http://www.opticsbalzers.com/

http://www.opticsbalzers.com/

OUR TECHNOLOGY PORTFOLIO


Optical Data Storage: Phase change PVD

Technology: CD, CD-R, DVD, BlueRay

1980 200019941967

Front End Semiconductor Technology: Sputtering and Evaporation

2004

Large area TFT Display:

PECVD, Etch, PVD Technology

Optical Disc

Thin Film Si solar panel:

PECVD, LPCVD Techn.

Flat panel

substrates

Solar cellsCrystalline Solar Cells:

PVD Technology

Free Form

optical substratesOptical Coating

Evaporation

HP Optical Coating Techn.:

Evaporation & Sputtering

Wafer processing

1946 – 2017

4


OUR IP PORTFOLIO

Patents (Filed and Granted) Worldwide: ≈ 580

Filed: ≈ 200 Granted: ≈ 380

Areas Covered:

• Deposition Sources

• Etch Sources

• Deposition Process

• Process Hardware-Environment

• Thermal Management

• APC

• Substrate Handling Concepts

• Platform Concepts

OUR LOCATION

6

• Headquartered in Trübbach, CH

• Global Headcount ≈ 330


• System assembly in class ISO7 & ISO8

• 2 levels for final equipment assembly

• Application Lab in class ISO6 (customer demo)

• R&D facilities and metrology with >1000m2

• Consecutive growth

4m to 164mCHF

since 2004

• Privately Owned

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150

200

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Steady Revenue

Growth

• Installed Base

> 5000 Systems

• Balanced business:

System Sales –

Retrofit - Service

• No.1 or strong No. 2

in diversified

markets

Balanced

Business

• Industry Lead User

strategy

• Technological

leadership &

differentiated

solutions in core

markets

• Gain M/S > CAGR

• Average spending

into R&D > 15% to

secure technical

leadership

Innovation

Strategy

Advanced Packaging

12%Power Device

9%

Wireless24%

MEMS6%

Opto Electronic

s15%

Photonics18%

Installed Base15%

OUR TRACK RECORD


OUR VISION

Evatec the ”Thin Film Powerhouse”

is the global leader in solutions for

the semiconductor, optoelectronics

and photonics industries.

Our technologies help make

innovations like smart hand held

devices, sensors & actuators, touch

and solar panels more affordable

and accessible (IoT) to consumers

and businesses around the world.


OUR VALUES

9

People

Ideas

Quality

Continuous

Improvement

DELIVERING

CUSTOMER

VALUE


OUR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

10

With a proven track record

• More than 5000 systems installed

around the world

Integrated process solution

provider

• Equipment / Platform

• Depositon Technology / Process

(Evaporation, Sputter, ICP, PECVD)

• Customer Service (on-site service,

spares, retrofit, training)

Customer-tailored equipment

architecture

• Batch (BAK, LLS, MSP)

• Cluster (CLN 200/300/RAD)

• Inline (SOLARIS, HEXAGON)


EVATEC MAKET PILLARS


PROCESS SOLUTIONS IN OUR TARGETED MARKETS


Market /

Industry

Advanced

Packaging

Power

Devices

Wireless

CommunicationMEMS Optoelectronics Photonics

Products

Wafer Level

Packaging

Panel Level

Packaging

Bipolar ICs,

Discrete Power

Semiconductors e.g.

EV/HEV,PV Inverter,

DC Converter

III-V RF-devices:

Power Amp. RF-filter,

RF switches, IR;

WBG RF devices

Optical & Magnetic

MEMS

Thin-Film-Head

Sensors / Actuators

HB LED / Lighting

IR – Devices

Photovoltaic Modules

Free Form Optical

Components

Micro Lenses

Mirrors / Filters

Laser / VCSEL

Touch Screen Panels

/ Tablets

Device /

Technology

• Flip Chip

• WL-CSP

• Fanout/ InFO/

eWLB…

• Power MOS, IGBT,

IGCT, LDMOS

• Mixed signal dev.

(BCD)

• WBG power devices

• HBT on GaAs

• p-HEMT on GaN

• IR devices

• RF-Filter: TC-

SAW & BAW

• TFR

• Wafer / Panel

Level Optics

• Discrete Sensors

• Integr. MEMS:

SoC, SiP

• GaN on sapphire

• GaN on Si

• GaN on GaN

• DBR

• High-eff. Solar

cells

• Interference

Coatings

• DBR

• Integrated Optics

• Wafer Level

Optics

PVD Process

/Application

• UBM

• RDL

• Integr. Passives

• TSV

• EMI shielding

• Backside metal e.g.

Etch- Al- Ti- NiV- Ag

• Thick Al front metal

• AlN Buffer for GaN

on Si

• Backside ViaTFR

• Metal Electrodes

• Piezo Layers (AlN,

AlScN)

• HD-SiO2

• Al IDT

• Soft Magnetics

• PZT, AlScN

• HP-TFR e.g.

NiCr(Si),TaN

• Thermoelectric

Layers

• TCO: ITO, GZO

• Metal Electrodes

• AlN PVD Buffer

• Dielectrics, AR

• AR

• Low/high index

metal-oxides

• Metals /

Dielectrics

• Anti-scratch

• Anti-smudge

HARDWARE SOLUTIONS IN OUR TARGETED MARKETS


Market / Industry

Advanced

Packaging

Power

Devices

Wireless

CommunicationMEMS Optoelectronics Photonics

12”

HE

XC

LN

8”

CL

N/R

AD

Various S

ubstr

ate

Siz

es

SO

LB

AK

MS

PL

LS


OUR INNOVATION NETWORK

Patent Families: 98

Collaboration with Customers R&D Consortia

Evatec’s Technology Center

Seize opportunities in next

generation applications

through joint evaluation and by

providing superior solutions

with our broad technology

pool.

PVD PECVD CVD Etch

OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE


4 Pillars of Sustainable Customer Service

Spare Parts On-site Services Upgrades/Retrofits Training

• Maintaining

Infrastructure for

fast global delivery

• Ensuring high tool

uptime for best

cost of ownership

• Offering self-

sufficient local

capability

• Accessing global

knowledge base for

timely support

• Working together

with customers on

Continuous

Improvement

Programs (CIP)

• Adding capability

and increasing

useful life of

customer existing

installed base

• Enhancing tool

productivity and

reducing running

costs

• Building customer

knowledge for

enhanced uptime

• Delivering standard

& custom trainings

for each product

line

OUR WORLDWIDE PRESENCE


Supporting customer service around the globe from our headquarters

Evatec AG

Hauptstrasse 1a

CH-9477 Trübbach

Switzerland

AGENDA

17

1 Welcome to Evatec: Company overview

2 Hard coatings for optical applications

Diamond-like carbon: IR optics

Diamond-like carbon: Consumer electronics

TiN and TiCN for decorative coatings


BAK

Balzers

Anlage

Kubisch

501 … 2000

System size

Workshop 10 IPL PZ Hard-Coatings 18

BAK PRODUCT PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT

System Size and Capacity

R&D

Pilot and Niches

Large Scale Production

BAK501

BAK641

BAK761 / BAKSAW / BAP801

BAK901

SAMSON / SPLIT

BAK701

BAV2000

BAV1400

Deliver Capability @ Lower Cost

Deliver Process

Performance &

Productivity

Mid Scale ProductionBAK1101

BAK Pre-Melt

Deliver Process

Performance & Ultra-

High Productivity


Materials:

Si / aSi/ Ge / ZnS / YtF3

Applications:

• IR, NIR filters Common to all is illumination in the NIR &

• AR and DLC Environment protection for highly demanding products

Already established:

• NIR / IR blocker for image sensors to enhance color rendering

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100

300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 T

ran

sm

itta

nc

e [

%]

Wavelength [nm]

Measurement UVIR-Blocking Filter

COATINGS FOR IR AND NIR APPLICATIONS


Why use Diamond Like Carbon/DLC films?

• IR materials (Si, Ge, ZnS..) are rather soft + wear easily

Demand for a hard coating as terminating layer to the environment

Applications

• Front lenses in IR optics

• Touch panels & camera lenses of mobile devices (thin DLC layers)

Requirements

• Transparent in IR region

• Hard and wear resistant

• Refractive index ca. 1.8-1.9 single layers form AR on Si and Ge

MOTIVATION

from: http://www.optics.umicore.com/ http://www.thebitbag.com/iphone-7-camera-rumors-same-8-

megapixel-sensor-as-previous-models/109475


http://www.optics.umicore.com/

PROPERTIES OF DLC

Diamond Like Carbon is not a material, but a class of materials

Requirements for films with desired properties for IR optical applications:

• Hybridization sp3 / sp 2 : > 60%

• Hydrogen content: < 40%

sp3

X-tal / transp /hard

Diamond

sp2 + sp3

amorphous/polymeric /

black – transp/ soft - hard

a-C(:H)tetrahedral hydrogenated

amorphous carbon «DLC»

sp2

X-tal /black /soft

Graphite


Traditional manufacturing:

• 1st deposit AR coating in box coater

• 2nd deposit DLC coating in separate system

(e.g. PECVD process)

Combine AR + DLC deposition in

ONE deposition system by

Using plasma source in evaporation

system for PECVD deposition of DLC

DLC PROCESS EXPERIENCE

AR

deposition

in

box coater

DLC

deposition

in separate

system


Configuration:

• IS300 plasma source:

High plasma current density /high ion energy

Operates with pure O2, N2 or H2 gases but also

with e.g. acetylene (C2H2) “maintenance free”,

easy handling

Fast: conditioning /ramp-up time

Low temperature load on substrate

• Stringent safety measures:

Purge gas handling and safety interlocks for

handling flammable gases such as acetylene,

methane etc.

Process control:

• GSM BB optical monitoring

• In-Situ stress measurement

CONFIGURATION OF BAK 1101 BOX-COATER

FOR DLC DEPOSITION

GSM BB Optical

MonitoringIn-situ stress

measurement

IS300

plasma source


RESULTS: IN-SITU STRESS MEASUREMENT OF

BROADBAND AR COATING WITH DLC LAYER

L – low refractive index material shows ca 700 MPa tensile stress and some stress

relaxation when deposition is stopped

H – high refractive index material is stress free

DLC shows compressive stress ca 750 MPa


WEAR TEST: WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADE TEST

Hardness and Wear Tests:

Various tests depending on the

application of DLC layer, e.g.:

• Nanoindentation

• Bayer test

Windshield wiper blade test:

• Container filled with sand

• Wiper blade rotates with defined force on test

sample

• Standardized by RSRE*

• Test is judged by eye and classified

*Royal Signals and Radar Establishment


RESULTS:

BROADBAND AR COATING WITH DLC LAYER

Numerous combinations of typical IR materials (Si,

Ge, ZnS, Y2O3, YbF3, ..) were tested for adhesion

Broad band antireflection coating, with perfect

adherence and no signs of wear after wiper blade test


1 Adhesion

2 Humidity

3 Severe

Abrasion

4 Temperature

cycle

5 Ultrasonic cleaning

6 Salt Fog

test

7 Windscreen Wiper Test

Test sample 1

45 days

Test sample 2

45 days

Test sample 3

45 days

Not tested

Passed, failed after overtesting

Passed

ENVIRONMENTAL TESTS


CONCLUSION FOR BAK PROCESSES

High Volume IR and NIR Coating with BAK

• Using big batch coating chamber for increasing throughput

• Multiple sources for high rate deposition

• Advanced process control (APC) for insitu measurement components

Synergy of PECVD and PVD for AR/DLC

• Hardness of about 22 GPa

• Refractive index around 1.65 – 2.0 and higher

• 100% resistance against the Wiper Test


AGENDA

30







COATINGS FOR TOUCHPANELS

31

Objectives

• Scratch resistant AR coatings for glass and sapphire Touchpanels & Watches

Application: Hard transparent

and / or anti reflective

coatings

Evatec solution: Solaris S151 & S380


Cover Glass

user side

sensor side

PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS ON SOLARIS PLATFORM

32

Low ITO resistivity on

ink printed glass

ITO coating

WCA > 100° after

> 10’000 strokes

with steel wool

AS coating

Index Matching Layer

IM coating

Metal Contacts

Metals

Color neutral AR layer

AR coating DLC coating

High abrasion resistance

and low absorption

Decorative

coating

Tailored R, T to

match desired color


SCRATCH RESISTANT AR COATING ON GLASS

33

Microscopic analysis of coated glass samples after scratch testing

• Scratch test simulates wear by coins, sharp objects etc. in user’s pocket

(common test in smartphone manufacturing)

• Scratch resistance is mainly determined by hardness and adhesion

Trade off between optical performance and scratch resistance

Goal: Scratch resistant coating on top of optically optimal AR coating

Typical smartphone cover glass after scratch test:

Evatec Hard AR coated glass

SiO2 Si3N4SiON


Tool platform

• Solaris S151 and S380

Sputter data

• Target material: Graphite

• Deposition rate up to 2 nm/s

Application

• Abrasion resistant top layer

on AR coatings

SPUTTER DEPOSITED DLC


DLC: OPTICAL DATA

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• Different sputter processes allow for wide ranges of optical properties

• Refractive index: 1.65 ≤ n ≤ 2.05

• Extinction coefficient: 0.014 ≤ k ≤ 0.410


TRANSMISSION DATA OF 10 nm DLC FILMS

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• 10 nm DLC on glass substrates

• Average Absorption (400 - 700 nm): Different sputter process allow large variation

Process 3: Abs400-700nm = 0.5%

Process 4: Abs400-700nm = 4.2%

• Transmitted color: Large process window for quasi neutral transmittance,

-0.5 < a* < 0.5, 1 < b* < 2

Glass

10nm DLC


WINDSHIELD WIPER ABRASION TEST

37

Glass

10nm DLC

Non-optimized

optimized

• Container filled with sand and water mixture (according to UK Defence Standard)

• Wiper blade rotates with defined force on test sample, duration 10 min

• Test result is judged by eye: 1.0 = no material removed, 0.0 = all material removed

Abrasion resistance is strongly increased by optimizing the interface to glass

Best combination of abrasion resistance and optical transmittance: Process 3


SCRATCH RESISTANCE VS. THICKNESS: DLC #3

38

• Scratch resistance determined by the steel wool test:

Steel wool grade «0000», 1 kg/cm2

• Scratch resistance increases with increasing film thickness

Significant improvement in comparison to uncoated glass: Factor 4.5 with 25 nm DLC


Tool platform

• Solaris S151 and S380

Sputter data

• Target material: Graphite

• Deposition rate up to 2 nm/s

Optical data

• Refractive index 1.65 ≤ n ≤ 2.05

• Extinction coefficient 0.014 ≤ k ≤ 0.410

Structural data

• Film density up to 2.3 g/cm3

• Surface roughness: Ra < 1.0 nm, for 10 nm thick films on glass

Scratch and abrasion resistance

• Windshield wiper abrasion test: No abrasion

• Steel wool scratch test: Scratch resistance of glass increased by factor 4.5

SPUTTERED DLC


AGENDA

40








• High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering:

Very short pulses < 200 μsec and low duty cycle < 10 %

• High pulse currents of 300 to 1000 A for high plasma density,

but low average power (20kW)

• Runs on standard PVD sources with small changes

Very dense films

Directional deposition

TiAlN HIPIMS process

TiAlN DC sputtering

HIPIMS SPUTTERING OF HARD DECORATIVE FILMS

TiCN: HARDNESS VARIATION BY PROCESS SETTINGS

42

• Hardness of 32 GPa achieved until now

• Close to literature values

• Pulse duration and pulse frequency influence the film structure


http://www.cityu.edu.hk/cosdaf/img/thin-

film/hardness.gif

High volume IR and NIR coating with BAK: AR/Filters + DLC

• Big batch coating chamber for increased throughput

• Multiple sources for high rate evaporation

• Advanced process control (APC) with insitu measurement

• DLC hardness up to 22 GPa

High throughput, fully automated coating with Solaris

• Inline system with full automation, cycle time ≥ 3 s

• 6 independent process chambers for high rate sputtering

• DLC for optical applications with high abrasion resistance

• TiCN hardness up to 32 GPa, color adjustable by C:N ratio

SUMMARY



Documents

HARD COATINGS FOR OPTICAL APPLICATIONS - … · • Deposition Process ... • GaN on Si • GaN on GaN • DBR ... 2 Hard coatings for optical applications Diamond-like carbon: IR