Ion composition produced by high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharges near the substrate

Plasma composition near the substrate was investigated in a high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) discharge using Langmuir probe analysis, mass spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The HIPIMS discharge was operated in nonreactive Ar atmosphere at a pressure of 2.66 Pa and the magnetron cathode was furnished with Ti target. Plasma density, metal ion-to-neutral ratio, and gas ion-to-metal ion ratio were studied as a function of discharge current. At peak discharge current densities of similar to 1 A cm(-2), the results show that a dense plasma (n(e) similar to 10(18) m(-3)) expanded from the target toward the substrate and lasted more than 330 mu s after the supplied power was turned off. The shape of the time-averaged ion energy distribution function of sputtered material exhibited a transition from Thompson to Maxwellian distribution, indicating efficient energy transfer in the discharge. The metal content in the plasma monotonically increased with discharge current and the metal ion-to-neutral ratio reached approximately 1: 1 in the postdischarge plasma at peak current density of 5 A cm(-2). (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3000446]