Editing Sputtering (section)

===Film deposition===
{{main|Sputter deposition}}
[[Sputter deposition]] is a method of [[thin film deposition|depositing]] [[thin film]]s by sputtering that involves eroding material from a "target" source onto a "substrate", e.g. a silicon [[wafer (semiconductor)|wafer]], solar cell, optical component, or many other possibilities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.admatinc.com/thinfilms/sputteringtarget/|title=Sputtering Targets {{!}} Thin Films|work=Admat Inc.|access-date=2018-08-28|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Resputtering]], in contrast, involves re-emission of the deposited material, e.g. SiO<sub>2</sub> during the deposition also by ion bombardment.

Sputtered atoms are ejected into the gas phase but are not in their [[thermodynamic equilibrium]] state, and tend to deposit on all surfaces in the vacuum chamber. A substrate (such as a wafer) placed in the chamber will be coated with a thin film. Sputtering deposition usually uses an [[argon]] plasma because argon, a noble gas, will not react with the target material.