Metal Coatings

Platypus Technologies offers services for deposition of thin metal films onto parts provided by customers.  Available metals include gold, silver, aluminum, platinum, titanium and chromium.

E-beam evaporation

Platypus Technologies utilizes e-beam evaporation to create high-quality thin films.  E-beam evaporation is a high-vacuum process where energetic electrons impinge upon a block of the metal to be deposited, causing metal atoms to be ejected.  These atoms deposit onto the relatively cold surface of the substrate. During metal deposition, the substrates rotate inside the vacuum chamber to achieve thickness uniformity. Following metallization, the thin films are tested to ensure they have adequate optical and electrical performance, and adhesion to the substrate.

For metallization of custom parts with gold, silver and platinum, we recommend using an adhesion layer. Typical materials that serve as adhesion layers include titanium and chromium.  The thickness of the adhesion layer is typically 2 – 5 nm.

Metal coatings produced by e-beam deposition are highly reproducible, have high purity (99.999% for gold or silver), and low surface roughness. In addition, thin films from Platypus Technologies are fabricated in a dedicated cleanroom facility (class 10,000) with environmental controls to minimize contamination from particles, and to limit temperature and humidity fluctuations.

Applications

Metal thin films find applications in sensors chips for surface plasmon resonance (SPR), optical mirrors, substrates for molecular characterization, and in the fabrication of electrical, electrochemical and optical devices.

Platypus Technologies offers additional services in photolithography to create sensors, bio-sensors, and microfluidic devices. Other services include deposition of dielectric optical coatings, protective coatings, and chip singulation.

Capabilities

  • Available Metals: Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), Platinum (Pt), Titanium (Ti).
  • Substrates: Glass, silicon, aluminum, plastics, flexible substrates, ceramics.
Gallery

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