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Sputter Targets

Sputter targets are the source materials used in physical vapor deposition. Each target has specific composition, power settings, and usage history that affect your deposited films.

Overview

This schema package defines:

  • DTUTarget - A sputter target with composition, dimensions, power ratings, and usage tracking

Targets extend NOMAD's CompositeSystem entity, providing:

  • Unique lab IDs for inventory management
  • Composition tracking (elements and stoichiometry)
  • Power and voltage parameters
  • Usage history (hours sputtered, replacement tracking)
  • Supplier information

Typical Usage

  1. Register new target: When a target arrives, create a DTUTarget entry with composition, size, and power specifications
  2. Reference in sputtering: Each DTUSputtering process references the targets used and their operating conditions
  3. Track usage: Monitor target lifetime and schedule replacements
  4. Correlate with results: Link film properties to specific targets (useful for identifying contamination or target aging effects)

Why Track Targets?

Target properties directly affect film quality:

  • Composition variations: Even small differences in target composition affect film stoichiometry
  • Aging effects: Target surface changes over time, affecting deposition rate and film quality
  • Power history: Previous high-power sputtering can modify target surface
  • Cost tracking: Expensive targets need careful lifetime management

Schema Documentation

DTUTarget

description: Class autogenerated from yaml schema.

inherits from: nomad.datamodel.metainfo.basesections.v1.CompositeSystem, nomad.datamodel.data.EntryData

properties:

name type
main_material str The main material of the target.
supplier_id str
target_number int The target number.
purity float64
impurity_file str Upload a text file specifying the impurities here. File has to be created with a separate code.
thickness float64 unit=meter
total_thickness float64 unit=meter
bonded bool default=False
magkeeper_target bool default=True
refill_or_mounting_date nomad.metainfo.data_type.Datetime
time_used float64 The time the target or cracker has been used in the system
unit=second
datetime nomad.metainfo.data_type.Datetime The delivery date of the target.
main_phases nomad.datamodel.metainfo.basesections.v1.PureSubstanceComponent sub-section, repeats
impurities nomad.datamodel.metainfo.basesections.v1.PureSubstanceComponent sub-section, repeats

normalization:

The normalizer for the DTUTargets class.

Args: archive (EntryArchive): The archive containing the section that is being normalized. logger (BoundLogger): A structlog logger.