Electrical Probe Diagnostics of the Hollow Cathode Plasma Jet System for Deposition of TiO_x Thin Films

Abstract

Measurements of positive ion flux to a negatively biased substrate for deposition of TiOx thin films by the hollow cathode plasma jet system are presented. Different methods of obtaining the bias of substrate and measuring the resulting ion flux were used for different bias frequencies. Pulsed DC bias, middle frequency 500 kHz bias, and pulse-modulated 13.56 MHz RF bias were compared. The measurements were performed for different bias and discharge conditions. Time-resolved Langmuir probe technique was simultaneously used to observe the basic plasma properties during the ion flux measurements.

Time‐Resolved Diagnostics of Dual High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering With Pulse Delays of 15 µs and 500 µs

“…The largest ion flux density j i ≈ 80 mA/cm 2 (for a probe bias voltage U B = -30 V and probe placed between magnetrons) was measured during the first (Ti) pulse roughly 30 μs after discharge ignition, see figure 5. The ion flux is about two orders of magnitude larger than values obtained in dc magnetron sputtering [25,34]. Such high ion fluxes are caused by the highly ionized HiPIMS plasma where all ion flux contributions (Ar + , Ti + , Cu + ) contribute.…”