Nickel-manganese alloy targets (most commonly NiMn alloy with a nickel-manganese ratio of 50:50 at.%) are key raw materials for fabricating functional thin films such as magnetic multilayer films and spintronic devices. Their fabrication process requires high purity, high density, uniform composition, and intact structure.
Preparation Method of Nickel-Manganese Alloy Targets
Preparation of the Raw Materials: Choose nickel and manganese powders of the highest purity (generally 99.9% or more) and proportion them based on the designed composition of the target material to be constructed (for example, Ni-Mn 1:1, Ni-Mn 3:1, etc.).
Forming Procedure: After mixing the powders, place them in a mold and perform cold isostatic pressing (CIP) to apply high pressures of between 100 to 300 MPa. This compaction of the powder succeeds in transforming it into a "green blank" of a required strength and density, which is 60 to 80 percent of the theoretical density.
Sintering: The next step involves placing the blank in a furnace protected with inert gas (for example, argon) during vacuum sintering, and subjecting it to high temperatures of between 800 and 1100 degrees Celsius for a number of hours.
Processing: This involves further working on the sintered blank, including cutting, grinding, and polishing. This is to ensure that the target material to be constructed meets the specified dimensional requirements.
Applications of Nickel-Manganese Alloy Targets
Electronics and Information Industry: Used for metal interconnect layers and contact layers in semiconductor manufacturing, as well as for the preparation of conductive or resistive thin films in thin-film resistors and TFT-LCD, OLED, and other display devices in the flat panel display industry.
Optics: Can be used to prepare optical thin films with high stability and conductivity, applied in optical devices, optical communications, and other fields.
Glass Coating: Used for coating preparation in automotive glass, architectural glass, etc., improving the conductivity, corrosion resistance, and other properties of glass.
Decorative and Protective Coatings: Used on the surfaces of eyeglass frames, watches, hardware parts, etc., providing coatings with special colors (such as black nickel), wear resistance, and corrosion resistance.
