Heavy species dynamics in high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharges

• The energy and the composition of the film forming species strongly influence the properties of the films being deposited. In HiPIMS, the film forming material consists of neutral atoms sputtered off the target and its ions. In the case of reactive sputtering, atoms, molecules and ions of the reactive gas also contribute to the film. In this chapter we give an extended overview of the measured fundamental plasma parameters related to ions and neutrals along with a description of suitable techniques for characterizing these species. One of the key differences between dcMS and HiPIMS is the ionization fraction of the sputtered material. Here we also discuss the methods applied to determine the ionization fraction of the sputtered material and the different ways it is quantified, and then survey the ionized flux fraction determined for the HiPIMS discharge. Furthermore, the method of laser-induced fluorescence is utilized to explore the spatio-temporal behavior of the ions and neutrals, and the observations are discussed. We also discuss and compare the ion energy distribution from dcMS and HiPIMS discharges. 

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Ion energy distribution function

Ion flux

Ionization fraction

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kap (subject category)