Ensuring long-term stability of process and film parameters during target lifetime in reactive magnetron sputtering

Bartzsch, Hagen; Frach, Peter; Goedicke, K.; Böcher, B.; Gottfried, Chr.

doi:10.1016/s0257-8972(01)01507-9

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…deposition of technologically important thin films and coatings [2]. Modulating the discharge voltage with square pulses in this frequency range has benefits over dc operation [3] since it eliminates arc events at the cathode and improves process stability [4,5]. It has benefits over RF [6] operation as it allows processing at much higher deposition rates [7] and avoids the scale-up complexities associated with this technique.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of the long-term plasma evolution in a pulsed dc magnetron discharge

Bäcker

Bradley

2005

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using a time-resolved Langmuir probe the temporal evolution of the plasma parameters in a pulsed dc magnetron discharge was determined for a number of positions both inside and outside the magnetic trap. The discharge was operated at a pulse frequency of 2 kHz with a 50% duty cycle, a titanium target and at a fixed argon pressure of 0.53 Pa.The electron density, n e , electron temperature, T e , plasma potential, V p and floating potential, V f have typically two-fold characteristic decay and rise times, which increase with distance from the target. In the magnetic trap, the initial n e decay rate is ∼18 µs, lengthening to 120 µs. However, in the plasma bulk, this figure is about 250 µs at all times during the plasma decay. The n e decay rate on the discharge centreline is somewhat slower at about 600 µs. During the transition from duty on to off phases a 'density-wave', initiated at the cathode, is observed to propagate downstream at about 1000 m s −1 (a velocity close to the calculated ion acoustic speed).The results reveal a complex picture in terms of the electron energies. In the off time, the electrons are characterized by a single Maxwellian distribution function and the initial T e decay times are between 6 and 10 µs. However, these lengthen dramatically to values between 600 and 800 µs depending on position to give a final T e value of about 0.2-0.3 eV. In the on time, and outside the magnetic trap, bi-Maxwellian electrons are observed with T eh = 4-6 eV and T ec = 1-2 eV. A simple model, taking into account the effect of the magnetic field on electron collection at the probe, has been used to show that the relative density of hot electrons is as high as 40%. On magnetic field lines that connect with the walls, bi-Maxwellian electrons exist during the whole on period; however, on the centreline their temperatures converge after about 100 µs to form a single distribution with T e ∼ 3 eV.Plasma potential measurements show that the strong axial electric fields in the plasma in the on time totally collapse in the off time. The general structure of the plasma and possible generation mechanisms for the two electron temperature groups is briefly discussed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of the long-term plasma evolution in a pulsed dc magnetron discharge

Bäcker

Bradley

2005

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Optical, electrical and acoustic films deposited by the Double Ring Magnetron

Bartzsch¹,

Frach²,

Goedicke³

2003

Vak Forsch Prax

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Numerous applications in optics, electronics and sensor technology require thin dielectric films. Conventionally they are deposited by evaporation, activated evaporation, rf-sputtering or CVD-techniques. This paper describes the deposition of such films using reactive Pulse Magnetron Sputtering. This technology not only enables a tenfold deposition rate compared to the conventional techniques but also offers new possibilities for influencing film growth. For example it is possible to alter film composition during deposition and hence to deposit complete optical systems without interruption of the plasma process. Furthermore the energetic bombardment of the growing film can be controlled in a wide range by the pulse mode and the pulse parameters. This can be used to either deposit very dense films by strong energetic bombardment or to deposit films at low thermal load onto temperature sensitive substrates. Examples of film deposition for laser optics, electrical insulation applications and surface acoustic wave devices show how these new technological possibilities advantageously can be used for creating innovative layer systems. Film deposition is carried out in stationary mode using a Double Ring Magnetron. This type of magnetron ensures film thickness uniformity better than ± 1 % on 8" substrates by the superposition of the thickness distributions of two concentric discharges

show abstract

Influence of zigzag microstructure on mechanical and electrical properties of chromium multilayered thin films

Lintymer

Martin

Chappé

et al. 2004

Surface and Coatings Technology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ensuring long-term stability of process and film parameters during target lifetime in reactive magnetron sputtering

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

Observations of the long-term plasma evolution in a pulsed dc magnetron discharge

Observations of the long-term plasma evolution in a pulsed dc magnetron discharge

Optical, electrical and acoustic films deposited by the Double Ring Magnetron

Influence of zigzag microstructure on mechanical and electrical properties of chromium multilayered thin films

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About