Iridium coated silicon wafer and microscope slide

Iridium (Ir) coated substrates are available as a Ø 4”/100mm silicon wafer and a glass microscope slide, coated with 100nm of pure Iridium (99.9%). Iridium is widely used as a protective coating in extreme conditions due to its resistance to corrosion and it is a metal that exhibits the highest resistance to corrosion in molten oxides. It has a high melting point, low oxygen permeability, high chemical stability and superior oxidation resistance. Iridium is also has promising potential for hydrogen production. Other applications include nanotechnology and thin film research.

An adhesion layer of titanium is used between the substrate and the iridium coating. Both the titanium and iridium coatings are deposited in a dedicated high vacuum deposition system using an electron beam (EB) evaporation source. The iridium coating is not atomically flat and there are height differences in the nanometre range. For protection, the wafers are packed in wafer carrying trays and the slides a in slide mailers.