As a new material, the sputtering target is relatively unfamiliar to the general public, but most of the electronic products we use daily contain such new materials. Among them, downstream industries such as semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, and solar cells have higher requirements for product quality and stability, so higher quality requirements are also put forward for sputtering targets. At present, the development of the industry in China lags behind countries such as the United States and Japan.

The Sputtering process that is used repeatedly in the manufacture of VLSI is a kind of physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology, which is one of the main technologies for the preparation of electronic thin film materials. It uses the ions produced by ion sources to accelerate and gather in high vacuum to form a high speed and energy ion beam, which bombards the solid surface. Ions and solid surface atoms exchange kinetic energy, so that the atoms on the solid surface leave the solid and deposit on the base surface, the bombarded solid is the raw material for depositing the film by sputtering method, called the sputtering target.

Sputtering target working principle diagram

In general, the sputtering target is mainly composed of target billet, backplane and other parts, among which the target billet is the target material bombarded by high-speed ion beam, which belongs to the core part of the sputtering target. In the process of sputtering coating, after the target billet is impacted by ions, the surface atoms are sputtered and dispersed and deposited on the substrate to make electronic film; Due to the low strength of high-purity metal, and the sputtering target needs to be installed in a dedicated machine to complete the sputtering process, the machine is high voltage, high vacuum environment, therefore, the ultra-high-purity metal sputtering target blank needs to be engaged with the backplane through different welding processes, the backplane mainly plays the role of fixing the sputtering target, and needs to have good electrical and thermal conductivity.

There are many types of sputtering targets, even if the sputtering target of the same material has different specifications. According to different classification methods, sputtering targets can be divided into different categories, the main classification is as follows:

1. Classification by shape: long target, square target, round target

2. Classified by chemical composition: metal target (pure metal aluminum, titanium, copper, tantalum, etc.), alloy target (nickel-chromium alloy, nickel-cobalt alloy, etc.), ceramic compound target (oxide, silicide, carbide, sulfide, etc.)

3, according to the application field classification: semiconductor chip target, flat display target, solar cell target, information storage target, tool modification target, electronic device target, other targets

In the field of sputtering target application, semiconductor chips on sputtering target metal material purity, internal microstructure and other aspects have set extremely demanding standards, need to master the key technology in the production process and through long-term practice to make products that meet the process requirements, therefore, semiconductor chips on sputtering target requirements are the highest, the price is also the most expensive; Compared with semiconductor chips, flat displays and solar cells have slightly lower purity and technical requirements for sputtering targets, but with the increase in the size of the target, higher requirements are put forward for the welding bonding rate and flatness of the sputtering target. In addition, the sputtering target needs to be installed in the sputtering machine to complete the sputtering process, and the sputtering machine is highly specific, which also sets many restrictions on the shape, size and accuracy of the sputtering target.

The high-purity sputtering target industry belongs to the field of electronic materials, and the upstream and downstream relationship of its industrial chain is as follows:

Ultra-high purity metal and sputtering target is an important part of electronic materials, sputtering target industry chain mainly includes metal purification, target manufacturing, sputtering coating and terminal applications, among which, target manufacturing and sputtering coating process is the key link in the entire sputtering target industry chain.

High-purity and even ultra-high-purity metal materials are the basis for the production of high-purity sputtering targets, taking the sputtering target for semiconductor chips as an example, if the impurity content of the sputtering target is too high, the formed film cannot achieve the required electrical properties, and it is easy to form particles on the wafer during the sputtering process, resulting in short circuit or damage to the circuit, which seriously affects the performance of the film. Under normal circumstances, high-purity metal purification is divided into chemical purification and physical purification, in order to obtain higher purity of metal materials, to maximize the removal of impurities, chemical purification and physical purification need to be combined. After purifying the metal to a very high purity, it is often necessary to match other metal elements before it can be put into use. In this process, it is necessary to go through melting, alloying and casting steps: by refining high-purity metal, excess gases such as oxygen and nitrogen are removed; A small amount of alloying element is added to make it fully combined with high purity metal and evenly distributed; Finally, it is cast into ingot without defects to meet the requirements of metal composition and size in the production and processing process.

The sputtering target manufacturing process first needs to be designed according to the performance requirements of the downstream application field, and then repeated plastic deformation, heat treatment, the need to accurately control the key indicators such as grain and crystal direction, and then through welding, mechanical processing, cleaning and drying, vacuum packaging and other processes. The process involved in the manufacture of sputtering target is delicate and numerous, and the process management and manufacturing technology level will directly affect the quality and yield of sputtering target.

Sputtering coating refers to the process of the object flying out when it is impacted by ions, and the object attached to the target substrate by sputtering is made into a film. The sputtering target is the target material bombarded by high-speed charged particles. This link is the most demanding link in the sputtering target industry chain for production equipment and technology, and the quality of sputtered films has an important impact on the quality of downstream products. In the process of sputtering coating, the sputtering target needs to be installed in the machine to complete the sputtering reaction, the sputtering machine has strong specificity and high precision, and the market has been monopolized by the United States and Japan multinational groups for a long time. Major equipment providers include AMAT (USA), ULVAC (Japan), ANELVA (Japan), Varian (USA), ULVAC (Japan) and other well-known companies in the industry.

Terminal applications are end-user oriented products made of packaged components for various market needs, including automotive electronics, smart phones, tablet computers, household appliances and other terminal consumer electronic products. Normally, after sputtering the semiconductor target, the coated silicon wafer needs to be cut and the chip package is carried out. Packaging refers to the process of connecting the circuit to the external connector with a wire in order to connect with other devices, which can not only protect the chip, but also isolate the chip from the outside world to prevent impurities in the air from corroding the chip circuit and damaging the conductive performance. In addition, the terminal application also includes the preparation of solar cells, optical coating, tool modification, high-grade decorative supplies, etc., this link has a wide technical surface and presents diversified characteristics.

Globally, the number of participating enterprises in each link of the sputtering target industry chain is basically pyramid distribution, high purity sputtering target manufacturing link with high technical threshold, large equipment investment, the number of enterprises with large-scale production capacity is relatively small, mainly distributed in the United States, Japan and other countries and regions, among which, some enterprises carry out metal purification business at the same time, extending the industrial chain to the upstream field; Some enterprises only have the production capacity of sputtering targets, and high-purity metals need to be supplied by upstream enterprises. The most high-end application of sputtering targets is in the field of ultra-large scale integrated circuit chip manufacturing, which is only a few companies in the United States and Japan (Nippon Metal, Honeywell, Dongcao, Praxair, etc.) engaged in related business, and is an industry monopolized by multinational companies.

As a sputtering target client sputtering coating process with large-scale production capacity of the number of enterprises is relatively large, but the quality is uneven, the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea and other well-known enterprises in the leading position of technology, brand awareness, market influence, usually will expand the industrial chain to the downstream application field. Take advantage of leading technology and high-end brands to quickly occupy the end consumer market, such as IBM, Philips, Toshiba, Samsung and so on.

Sputtering target industry distribution has a certain regional characteristics, the United States, Japan multinational group industrial chain is complete, including metal purification, target manufacturing, sputtering coating and terminal application of various links, with large-scale production capacity, in the master of advanced technology after the implementation of monopoly and blockade, leading technological innovation and industrial development; South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have expertise in magnetic recording and optical thin films. In addition, due to the earlier development of the chip and LCD panel industry in the above areas, the division of service is clear, which can provide professional foundry services such as welding, cleaning, packaging for the downstream brand enterprises of the industrial chain, docking the upstream basic materials and downstream terminal applications, and play a role in promoting the product development and market expansion of upstream sputtering targets to a certain extent. However, the target service manufacturers in the above regions lack the core technology and equipment, and can not form competitiveness in the core technology fields such as the purification of metals and the control of organizations. Ultra-high purity metal materials and sputtering targets are still relatively new industries in China, and downstream sputtering coating and end users represented by chip manufacturers and LCD panel manufacturers are increasing efforts to expand production capacity.  For this reason, the application market demand for high-end sputtering targets is growing rapidly.

Because the sputtering coating process originated from abroad, the required sputtering target products have high performance requirements and strong professional application, therefore, for a long time, the global sputtering target development and production are mainly concentrated in the United States and Japan, a few companies, and the industrial concentration is quite high. Sputtering target manufacturers represented by multinational groups such as Honeywell (United States), Nichimine Metal (Japan) and Dongcao (Japan) have been involved in this field earlier, and after decades of technical accumulation, they dominate the global sputtering target market with their strong technical force, fine production control and excellent product quality, occupying most of the market share. After mastering the core technology of sputtering target production, these enterprises implement extremely strict confidentiality measures to limit the diffusion of technology, while constantly expanding horizontally and integrating vertical, actively expanding their business tentacles into various application fields of sputtering coating, firmly grasping the initiative of the global sputtering target market, and leading the technological progress of the global sputtering target industry.

Affected by the development history and technical limitations, the sputtering target industry started late in China, and it still belongs to a relatively new industry. Compared with the sputtering targets produced by internationally renowned enterprises, there is still a certain gap in the development and production technology of China's sputtering targets, and the market influence is relatively limited, especially in the fields of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar cells, etc., the global high-purity sputtering target market is still controlled or monopolized by the sputtering target manufacturers in the United States and Japan. With the development of sputtering targets in the direction of higher purity and larger size, China's sputtering target manufacturers only carry out continuous research and development innovation, have strong product development capabilities, and develop sputtering target products suitable for different application fields, in order to occupy a place in the global sputtering target market.

Semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar cells and other downstream industries have higher requirements for product quality and stability, in order to strictly control product quality, downstream customers, especially global well-known manufacturers in the selection of suppliers, supplier qualification barriers are high, and the certification cycle is longer. China's high-purity sputtering target enterprises to enter the international market, first of all through some international organizations and industry associations for high-purity sputtering target set industry quality management system standards, for example, semiconductor manufacturers used in automotive electronics generally require upstream sputtering target suppliers can pass the ISO/TS16949 quality management system certification, Manufacturers of sputtering targets used in electrical equipment need to meet the mandatory RoHS standards set by the European Union; Secondly, semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar cells and other downstream well-known customers have established a very perfect customer certification system, on the basis of high-purity sputtering target suppliers to meet the industry quality management system certification, downstream customers often also according to their own quality management requirements to the supplier qualified supplier certification. The certification process mainly includes technical review, product quotation, sample testing, small batch trial, mass production and other stages, the certification process is quite demanding, new product development to achieve mass supply, the whole process generally takes 2-3 years. In order to reduce the development and maintenance costs of suppliers and ensure the continuity of product quality, after the supplier of sputtering targets passes the qualification certification of downstream customers, downstream customers will maintain a long-term stable cooperative relationship with the supplier of sputtering targets, and will not easily change suppliers, and tilt to high-quality suppliers in terms of technical cooperation and supply share.

In recent years, benefiting from the state's continuous support for the development and application of electronic materials industry from a strategic height, a small number of enterprises specializing in the development and production of high-purity sputtering targets began to appear in China, and successfully developed a number of sputtering targets that can adapt to high-end application fields, providing a good R & D foundation and market conditions for the large-scale industrialization of high-purity sputtering targets. Through the industrialization of the research and development results of sputtering targets, and actively participate in the international market competition of sputtering targets, China's sputtering target manufacturers have made great progress in technology and market, and changed the unfavorable situation of long-term dependence on imports of high-purity sputtering targets. At present, domestic enterprises such as Jiangfeng Shares have mastered the key technology of high-purity sputtering target production, accumulated rich industrial experience, has a certain market visibility, and won the recognition of well-known customers around the world.

Sputtering technology, as the mainstream process for the preparation of thin film materials, has a wide range of applications, such as integrated circuits, flat panel displays, solar cells, information storage, tool modification, optical coating, electronic devices, high-grade decorative supplies and other industries. High-purity sputtering targets are mainly used in fields with higher requirements for material purity and stability, such as integrated circuits, flat panel displays, solar cells, recording media, smart glass and other industries.

Since the 1990s, with the rapid development of consumer electronics and other terminal application markets, the market size of high-purity sputtering targets has been expanding, showing a momentum of rapid growth. According to statistics, in 2015, the annual sales of the world's high-purity sputtering target market was about 9.48 billion US dollars. It is predicted that in the next five years, the market size of the world's sputtering targets will exceed 16 billion US dollars, and the compound annual growth rate of the market size of high-purity sputtering targets can reach 13%.

At present, high-purity sputtering target products are mainly used in the semiconductor industry, flat panel display industry and solar cell industry, and the market capacity and development trend of these fields are as follows:

(1) Semiconductor industry

High-purity sputtering targets are rising with the development of semiconductor industry, and the integrated circuit industry has become one of the main application fields of high-purity sputtering targets. With the rapid development of information technology, the integration of integrated circuits is required to be higher and higher, and the size of the unit devices in the circuit is shrinking. Each unit device is composed of substrate, insulating layer, dielectric layer, conductor layer and protective layer, among which, the dielectric layer, conductor layer and even protective layer are used in the sputtering coating process, so the sputtering target is one of the core materials for the preparation of integrated circuits. The coating targets in the field of integrated circuits mainly include aluminum targets, titanium targets, copper targets, tantalum targets, tungsten and titanium targets, etc., which require high purity of the targets