How to Choose a Precious Metal Sputtering Target Manufacturer.
Just like there are many uses for gold, silver, platinum and palladium sputtering targets, there are many important factors that can go into choosing a manufacturer that is right for your particular application.
Precious metal sputtering targets are used in the vacuum coating process to manufacture products in a variety of industries including aerospace, automotive, glass, medical devices, semiconductors and more.
Companies using precious metal sputter targets for thin film applications range in size from Global Fortune 500 corporations to small businesses, startups and divisions of multinational companies with unique specialties. Materials Science and Engineering faculty at Universities also use gold, silver, platinum and palladium sputtering targets in graduate and undergraduate research and development.
Large area silver sputtering targets are common in the glass industry to manufacture Low-E Glass which reduces heating and cooling costs of buildings. Gold sputtering targets are used in aerospace to coat visors of astronauts, windows of spacecraft and more. Precious metal targets are used in diabetes test strips and other medical devices and are found in a variety of automotive and aviation electronics, semiconductors, solar panels and emerging zero-carbon technologies. Precious metal sputter targets and the vacuum coating process in general play an essential role in a new generation of innovative products.
An experienced precious metal sputtering target manufacturer will be well versed in the inherent challenges of precious metal sputter targets including managing working capital and cash flow, innovative target designs, spent target recycling and ISO 9001 certification.
Before making a decision to hire a precious metal sputtering target manufacturer, the following questions should be answered to your satisfaction.
Does your sputtering target manufacturer have extensive precious metal manufacturing and refining experience?
Precious metal targets aren’t like targets made with more abundant materials and come with a specific set of challenges. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are rarer and more expensive than common target materials like copper, zinc, silicon or aluminum alloys. Securing a reliable supply of precious metals while managing metal costs and sputtering target production schedules are essential in lowering the cost of ownership of your targets. For this reason, it is especially important to use a sputter target manufacturer who has extensive experience in the precious metals business.
An experienced precious metal sputtering target manufacturer should understand the latest strategies to help customers lower the cost and amount of metal used in their targets. These strategies might include innovative, custom sputtering target designs that use less metal up front, spent target recycling programs and faster turnaround of your new targets to help prevent potential costs from metal market volatility. These are just some of the factors that can help companies of all sizes preserve working capital and better manage cash flow.
2. Does your sputtering target manufacturer have precious metal target design experience?
In the precious metal sputter target business, efficient use of metal is essential to providing a cost-effective target that helps manage your manufacturing costs. The prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium can have periods of volatility due to external circumstances. The war in Ukraine, for example, resulted in an initial rise in palladium prices. The adoption of electric cars has recently brought the price of palladium, used in catalytic convertors for gas powered cars, to yearly lows. The rapid growth of low-carbon technologies will be silver intensive and could result in higher demand for that metal. The most effective way to combat rapid price fluctuations is to design sputtering targets that help put more metal on the substrate.
In precious metal target design, a small increase in efficiency can result in a large increase in working capital and cash flow. An experienced precious metal target manufacturer understands these tiny increments make a big difference and should offer solutions that help lower the cost of sputtering target ownership.
Does your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer offer a lightning fast turnaround on spent target recycling? Any delays might build uncertainty in to your precious metal costs. What is your target manufacturer’s view on hedging the markets to take advantage of historically low rates to stock up on crucial metal supplies for the coming months? While nobody can predict the markets, the best way to avoid metal fluctuations is to move fast and manufacture your new targets as quickly as possible. All of this not only helps avoid market volatility but can help increase cash flow.
3. Does your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer offer working capital and cash flow management solutions?
Cash is the lifeblood of a business, especially in manufacturing. The nature of precious metal sputter targets means putting out more cash than, say, an aluminum alloy target. Target manufacturers who specialize in precious metals understand this difference and use it to help their customers manage working capital and cash flow. The most experienced precious metal sputter target manufacturers have a culture that makes honoring time commitments a top priority.
4. Does your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer offer spent target recycling programs?
An important factor in lowering the cost of sputter target ownership is reducing the time between the recycling of a spent target and the manufacturing and shipping of the new target. This involves bringing spent target recycling into the manufacturing process. A spent target might contain approximately half the amount of metal as the original target. If that target is made of gold, that’s a lot of working capital that’s not working for you. The precious metal sputtering target experts understand you need to get that capital working as soon as possible. The most expert precious metal manufacturers will have a spent target recycling program which quickly credits you for the spent target and applies it as a down payment for your future target. Essentially, the spent target pays for a portion of the new target, cash and metal is managed and the target is manufactured quickly. Closing the loop between spent target and new target helps avoid market volatility and keeps cash flowing to other parts of the business.
5. Is your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer ISO-9001 Certified?
Continuous quality is important in all manufacturing. Precious metal sputter target manufacturing is no exception. Are you working directly with the manufacturer or are you getting your target through a supplier? Both can be good solutions depending on your needs. Off-the-shelf precious metal targets can be a good choice for companies or Universities who aren’t heavy target users. No matter who you choose to work with, be sure the supplier is getting it through a manufacturer who is ISO 9001 Certified. If you are working with a supplier, be sure to ask if they offer cash management solutions and spent target recycling. They can often contract with the manufacturer they work with to provide these solutions and offer a full lifecycle of value for your target.
6. Does your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer have experience with certification processes?
Choosing a precious metal sputtering target manufacturer often involves a vendor certification process. Adding a new precious metal sputtering target vendor to things like a multi-billion dollar glass manufacturing plant or aviation component process can be a complex task. Companies looking for precious metal sputter target manufacturers should be sure the company has the experience, design skills and reliability to make the transition to a new factory or vacuum coating line as smooth as possible.
7. Does your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer have experience in your industry?
Be sure to ask if the company has experience in your specific industry or fields that are associated with it. What projects have their people worked on? Are they experienced in the automotive industry? Do they work with major glass manufacturers? How do they handle semiconductor deadlines? Many of the relationships in the industry are confidential, but they should provide you with general answers that can help you make your decision.
8. What types of precious metal sputtering targets does the company manufacture?
Precious metal targets come in all shapes and sizes. Coating tiny semiconductors is different than providing large area coating for the glass industry. The type of target that works for a glass manufacturer may be totally different than that of a circuit board for an automotive application. What is the manufacturer’s specialty? Planar targets? Rotary targets? What level of purity can they provide? Are you looking for 99.99% (aka 4 9s)? 99.999% (aka 5 9s)? Being up front about the specific application and the experience of the manufacturer with those particular details will be essential in making a decision.
9. Does your precious metal sputtering target manufacturer offer backing plates?
The most innovative designs are all about the details. In gold, silver, platinum and palladium sputtering targets, backing plates should never be an afterthought. A properly designed backing plate can make a target more efficient in your coater and in the long run, save money on metal and increase cash flow. While most precious metal sputtering target manufacturers don’t make their own backing plates they should have close relationships with reliable, innovative companies who do. Be sure to hire a company that understands how the backing plate design affects the performance of your precious metal target. The right precious metal sputtering target manufacturer won’t have backing plates in the back of their mind, but will consider it an integral part of the overall target design process.
Now that you’ve asked all the right questions, you’re in a good place to make important decisions about your next precious metal sputtering target manufacturer. The people of DHF Technical Products have over a century of experience in the business and we’d be more than happy to answer any additional questions you have about gold, silver, platinum and palladium sputtering targets. Let’s talk targets today. Sputter on!
