Development Status and Future Trends of the Sputtering Target Industry

(I) Basic Overview of the Sputtering Target Industry

1. Development History of Thin Film Preparation Technology

Thin film materials are formed by the condensation, formation, and growth of atoms or molecules on the surface of a substrate (e.g., optical glass). Applying a thin film via a coating process can impart new composite properties to the material surface, enabling new engineering applications. This endows the material surface with new mechanical functions, decorative functions, and special functions such as acoustic, electrical, optical, magnetic, thermal properties and their conversions, thereby improving the product's original performance, enhancing product quality, and extending product lifespan.

In the early stages of the thin film materials industry, limited by preparation technology and material properties, thin films were only used for applications like corrosion resistance and mirror manufacturing. With advancements in technologies such as vacuum systems and detection systems for thin film preparation, the performance of thin films has significantly improved, and their application areas have rapidly expanded. Particularly since the 1950s, with the rise of the electronics and information industries, thin film preparation technologies and materials have demonstrated advantages in large-scale manufacturing of printed circuit boards and the miniaturization of integrated circuits (ICs). Currently, thin film synthesis and preparation have become an indispensable means of developing new materials. Thin film preparation technologies and materials are widely used in various critical fields of modern technology and the national economy, such as aerospace, electronic information, healthcare, energy, and communications.

Vacuum coating technology is the foundation of thin film preparation; almost all thin film materials must be prepared under vacuum or low-pressure conditions. Based on different process principles, vacuum coating technology can be divided into CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition). CVD is a process that deposits thin films on the substrate surface through chemical reactions of gas mixtures, which has certain limitations in the selection of reactants and products. Additionally, as chemical reactions require relatively high temperatures, the substrate environment is generally heated, imposing some restrictions on substrate material selection. PVD is a technology that deposits thin films with specific functions on the substrate surface through physical means. It offers a wide range of choices for deposition materials and substrate materials, easier control over film thickness, stronger adhesion, and broader applicability. The coating process is more energy-efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly, making it the mainstream technology in thin film preparation today.

Classified by specific process and technical route, PVD vacuum coating technology mainly includes vacuum evaporation coating and vacuum sputtering coating. Vacuum evaporation coating is simple, convenient, and offers fast film formation speed, making it dominant in the early stages of development. However, due to its inability to evaporate refractory metals and oxide materials, poor suitability for coating large-sized substrates, and other factors, it has gradually been replaced by vacuum sputtering coating. Vacuum sputtering coating offers good reproducibility and controllable film thickness, allowing for the deposition of uniform films over large-area substrates. The prepared films have advantages such as high purity, good density, and strong adhesion to the substrate material, making it one of the primary technologies for the industrial preparation of various thin films. As performance requirements for thin films continuously increase, vacuum sputtering technology has been consistently upgraded and iterated; Magnetron sputtering technology is currently the most widely used.

The primary coating material used in magnetron sputtering technology is the sputtering target. Based on the shape of the sputtering target used, it can be divided into planar magnetron sputtering and rotary magnetron sputtering technologies. Magnetron sputtering technology involves accelerating ions in a vacuum environment through an electric field to form a high kinetic energy ion beam that collides with a solid surface. Atoms from the solid surface are sputtered off and deposited onto the surface of the object to be coated. The solid (i.e., the sputtering target) bombarded by the high-speed ions is the source of the thin film, acting like a target being shot during the deposition process.

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2. Structure and Classification of Sputtering Targets

A sputtering target refers to the sputtering source that is deposited onto a substrate under appropriate process conditions via coating systems like magnetron sputtering to form various functional thin films.

A sputtering target is primarily composed of a target blank and a backing plate (or backing tube, similarly hereafter). The target blank is the core part of the sputtering target, serving as the target material bombarded by the high kinetic energy ion beam during the sputtering coating process. When the target blank is struck by ions, atoms on its surface are sputtered out and deposited onto the substrate surface to form a thin film. The backing plate is mainly used for fixing and supporting the target blank material, and for heat and electrical conduction. It is generally made of metal materials. Because sputtering targets need to be installed in dedicated sputtering coating equipment to complete the sputtering process, and the equipment interior is a high-voltage, high-vacuum working environment, most target blanks have characteristics such as being relatively soft, having high brittleness, and poor electrical and thermal conductivity, making them unsuitable for direct installation and use within the equipment. Therefore, they need to be bonded to a backing plate.

With the continuous advancement of magnetron sputtering coating technology and the ongoing development of downstream application demands, the materials used for sputtering targets have become increasingly diverse. Currently, materials used to prepare sputtering targets include elemental metals/non-metals, alloys, and Ceramic Compounds. Metal/non-metal elemental targets are composed of the same metal/non-metal element, possessing high purity and specific microstructures, such as copper (Cu) targets, aluminum (Al) targets, molybdenum (Mo) targets, titanium (Ti) targets, silicon (Si) targets, graphite (C) targets, boron (B) targets, etc. They are important raw materials for preparing electrode wiring films, barrier layers, adhesion layers, and reflective films. Alloy targets are synthesized from two or more metals or non-metals, possessing certain metallic characteristics, such as titanium-aluminum (TiAl) targets, nickel-chromium (NiCr) targets, molybdenum-niobium (MoNb) targets, etc. Alloy targets have specific properties superior to those of elemental targets, meeting the design and development needs of new functional film systems. Ceramic compound targets are composed of one or several oxides sintered at high temperatures, possessing ceramic structures and characteristics, such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) targets, IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide) targets, AZO (Aluminum Zinc Oxide) targets, etc. Ceramic compound targets have advantages like high strength, high melting point, good chemical stability, and corrosion resistance, but they have poor plastic deformation ability, are prone to brittle failure, and are difficult to prepare in large sizes.

Sputtering targets must be used with dedicated sputtering coating equipment to perform sputtering coating. Sputtering targets can be classified by shape into planar targets and rotary targets. Planar targets refer to long, square, round, etc., targets of a certain thickness, formed by bonding a target blank and a backing plate. During sputtering, the target blank and the substrate are parallel and facing each other, with magnets placed below the backing plate to form an electromagnetic field between the target blank and the substrate. Rotary targets are tubular sputtering targets, with magnets placed inside the tube target to form an electromagnetic field towards the substrate. Based on whether bonding to a backing plate or tube is required, sputtering targets can be divided into monolithic targets and bonded targets. Monolithic targets are typically metal elemental targets, formed directly from metal during the preparation process, without a backing plate or tube, requiring no bonding, and can be installed and used directly. Bonded targets are typically non-metal elemental and ceramic compound targets, which require bonding to a backing plate or tube before they can be sputtered.

3. Position and Role of the Sputtering Target Industry in the Industrial Chain, and its Relationship with Upstream and Downstream Industries

The sputtering target industry chain mainly includes metal purification, target manufacturing, sputtering coating, and terminal applications. Among these, target manufacturing is a critical link in the sputtering target industry chain. The product quality and performance indicators of sputtering targets directly determine the quality and stability of the final products.

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In the sputtering target industry chain, the upstream metal purification stage primarily involves purifying naturally occurring metals containing impurities to meet the production needs of the target manufacturing stage. The target manufacturing stage requires numerous fine and complex processes, along with unique process design based on the performance and requirements of downstream application fields. The sputtering coating stage mainly involves installing the sputtering target in dedicated sputtering coating equipment to complete the sputtering reaction, preparing film layers with characteristics such as conductivity, insulation, photoconductivity, piezoelectricity, magnetism, lubrication, superconductivity, wear resistance, decoration, etc., and performing component packaging. Terminal applications involve using the packaged components to produce products for end-users.

As a key material for the industrial preparation of various thin films, sputtering targets are widely used in semiconductor integrated circuits, flat-panel displays, solar cells, information storage, low-emissivity glass, and other fields. Different application fields have varying requirements for the preparation technology and product performance of sputtering targets.

Sputtering targets are one of the core materials for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuits. Each unit device within an integrated circuit consists of a substrate, insulating layer, dielectric layer, conductor layer, and protective layer, among others. Among these, the dielectric layer, conductor layer, and even the protective layer require the use of sputtering coating processes. Since the emergence of integrated circuits, the IC industry has developed rapidly following the model of "one generation of equipment, one generation of process, one generation of products." With the continuous increase in chip integration density, the performance requirements for sputtering targets used in IC manufacturing have become increasingly higher. Sputtering targets for semiconductor integrated circuits currently represent the field with the highest technical difficulty within the industry.

Flat-panel displays represent the application field with the largest demand volume for sputtering targets. Coating is a fundamental step in the modern flat-panel display industry. To ensure the uniformity of large-area film layers, improve production efficiency, and reduce costs, almost all types of flat-panel display devices use a significant number of sputtering targets to prepare various functional films. Many performance aspects of end products like TVs, computers, mobile phones, and automotive displays, such as resolution and light transmittance, are closely related to the performance of the sputtered films. Compared to semiconductor integrated circuits, the purity and technical requirements for sputtering targets in the flat-panel display field are slightly lower. However, as target sizes increase, higher demands are placed on indicators such as the uniformity, flatness, and bonding weld rate of sputtering targets.

Solar cells are one of the application fields with significant future potential for sputtering targets. Sputtering targets are mainly used to prepare back electrodes for thin-film solar cells and conductor layers for HJT (Heterojunction Technology) solar cells. In recent years, countries worldwide have increased support for the photovoltaic industry. Solar cell technology has developed rapidly globally, evolving from early monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon solar cell technologies to the third-generation solar technology—thin-film solar cell technology. Sputtering coating is the preferred preparation method for thin-film solar cells. Simultaneously, to further improve photoelectric conversion efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs, emerging solar cell technologies like HJT are continuously emerging. The widespread application and promotion of solar cells will drive the rapid growth of market demand for sputtering targets.

Furthermore, sputtering targets can also be widely used in information storage, glass coating, decorative coating, tool and mold coating, and other fields. Compared to the semiconductor IC and flat-panel display fields, the technical requirements for aspects like purity and grain orientation control of sputtering targets in fields such as information storage, glass coating, and decorative coating are generally lower. Under the premise of meeting product quality and technical requirements, these fields focus more on cost, production capacity scale, supply stability, and delivery time.

(II) Global Development of the Sputtering Target Industry

High-performance sputtering targets emerged alongside the development of industries such as semiconductors, flat-panel displays, information storage, and microelectronics. Involving multiple technical characteristics like electrical, magnetic, thermal properties, reflectivity, and color appearance, it is a typical technology-intensive industry. The requirements for production technology, machinery and equipment, process flow, and working environment are very strict, and it has long been monopolized by foreign companies. Since the 1970s, with the continuous deepening of technological innovation in the electronics and information industries, a number of high-performance sputtering target manufacturers have emerged in developed countries or regions such as the United States, Japan, and Europe. After mastering the core technologies, these companies implemented very strict confidentiality and patent licensing measures, long occupying a dominant position in the global sputtering target market. According to statistics, from 1990 to 1998, Japan accounted for 58% of sputtering target patents filed in the US by countries worldwide, the US accounted for 27%, and Germany accounted for 11%. Furthermore, the regional clustering characteristic of global high-end manufacturing has further concentrated the market share of upstream key materials like high-performance sputtering targets in developed countries or regions.

Since the 1980s, the electronic information industry, primarily driven by semiconductor integrated circuits, flat-panel displays, information storage, and optical storage devices, has developed rapidly, with technological processes iterating quickly. The demand for key material films and sputtering targets for manufacturing related products has continuously increased. For example, in semiconductor IC manufacturing processes, copper conductor films with lower resistivity replaced aluminum films for wiring; in the flat-panel display industry, the simultaneous development of various display technologies also continuously increased the demand for sputtering targets; in the information storage industry, the storage capacity of magnetic memories continuously increased, and new magneto-optical recording materials emerged constantly. The rapid development of downstream application fields has greatly promoted the development of magnetron sputtering technology and the sputtering target industry. The emergence of new sputtering targets has also met the technical and performance needs of various new electronic components.

With the widespread application of various sputtered thin film materials in fields such as semiconductor integrated circuits, flat-panel displays, and information storage, the demand from downstream fields for this high-value-added functional material has continuously increased. The market size for high-performance sputtering targets has expanded significantly, showing a rapid growth trend. According to data from Hua Jing Industry Research Institute and Zhongshang Industrial Research Institute, from 2016 to 2023, the global sputtering target market size increased from USD 11.3 billion to USD 25.8 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.52%. In the future, with the development of new infrastructures and application fields such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, new displays, solar cells, and energy-saving glass, the terminal application fields of sputtering targets will further expand, and the global sputtering target market size will continue to grow steadily.

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Leveraging first-mover advantages in patent technology, strong technical capabilities, refined production control, and high product quality, large sputtering target manufacturers from developed countries or regions such as the United States, Japan, and Europe have captured a high market share in the global sputtering target market. Large multinational corporations represented by JX Nippon Mining & Metals, Honeywell, Tosoh, and Praxair were established early, have a long history, are mature, and encompass the entire industry chain, including metal purification, target manufacturing, sputtering coating, and terminal applications. Relying on first-mover advantages and technological R&D strengths, these companies dominate the industry's development direction and technological innovation, holding significant advantages in the field of sputtering targets. They currently collectively hold approximately 80% of the global market share. Additionally, other multinational companies with strong financial capabilities, leading technological levels, and rich industry experience, such as Mitsui Kinzoku, Sumitomo Chemical, Ulvac, H.C. Starck, and Plansee, hold leading market positions in their respective dominant target segments.