Manufacture and properties of cold spray deposited large thickness Cu coating material for sputtering target

In this study, the manufacture of a large thickness Cu coating layer as sputtering target material via a cold spray coating process was undertaken. The microstructure and properties of the Cu layer as the sputtering target material (before and after the annealing heat treatment) were evaluated, compared, and analyzed. To evaluate the purity, density, grain size and uniformity, microstructure, and properties of the Cu-coated layer as a sputtering target, X-ray diffraction, ICP analysis, SEM, EBSD, porosity analysis, and Vickers hardness tests were performed. The result of the observation of the layer’s purity and microstructure showed that a purity level (99.47%) similar to that of the early powder 2N5 was maintained and that the manufacture of a cold spray deposited, ∼20 mm thick Cu coating material for the sputtering target was performed successfully. As a result of the EBSD mapping, the average grain size near the interface and around the center measured 1.48 μm and 1.49 μm; the grains were small and non-uniform compared with the 1.91 μm size near the surface. Note, however, that the recrystallization and grain growth (caused by annealing) increased the grain size to 1.82 μm (near the interface), 1.83 μm (near the center), and 1.87 μm (near the surface) and improved the level of uniformity. Moreover, through post heat treatment, the overall porosity declined (0.44 % porosity/400 °C/h heat treatment), and the grain texture became uniform. The possibility of controlling the microstructure as a large thickness sputtering target by conducting an annealing heat treatment was also confirmed. Nonetheless, the differences in the porosity and hardness associated with the coating thickness changes were partially maintained. Based on the aforementioned findings, this study suggests that by using cold spray deposition, Cu coating layers with large thicknesses can be applied as a sputtering target.