Microstructure, Properties, and Grain Growth Kinetics of Mo-5Ta Refractory Sputtering Targets Prepared by SPS

Abstract

Mo-5Ta targets were prepared by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology under the sintering temperatures of 1 400–1 600 °C, the holding times of 0–20 min, and the axial pressure of 30 MPa. The microstructure, performance, and grain growth kinetics of Mo-5Ta sputtering targets were studied. With the increase of sintering temperatures and times, Ta can more dissolve in Mo and form a Mo(Ta) solid solution. The grain sizes of Mo-5Ta targets remain unchanged at low temperatures (1 400–1 500 °C) while increasing significantly at high temperature (1 600 °C) with the extension of the holding time. In addition, the densities and Vickers hardness (HV_0.5) first ascend and then decrease with sintering proceeding. The thermal conductivity is positively correlated with the grain size and density, as a result of their joint action. Based on the comprehensive analysis, the grain growth is dominated by the combination of boundary diffusion and volume diffusion. When n=2, the activation energies of grain growth under holding times of 5, 10, 20 min are calculated as 762.70, 617.86, and 616.52 kJ/mol, respectively.

Keywords

SPS / Mo-5Ta targets / structure / properties / grain growth kinetics

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