期刊
SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY
卷 205, 期 -, 页码 S307-S311出版社
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2010.12.023
关键词
HiPIMS; Low-pressure sputtering; Langmuir probe; Mass spectrometry
Using an energy-resolved mass spectrometer the evolution of the ion energy distribution function (IEDF) in a high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) plasma has been measured at low operating pressures. The plasma was maintained using a low-power DC power supply as a pre-ionizer in conjunction with a conventional HiPIMS power supply, allowing reduced times between the initiation of the HiPIMS pulse and plasma ignition. As a result, a stable HiPIMS discharge can be operated at the working pressure down to 86 mPa with a typical pulse width, repetition rate and peak power density of 100 mu s, 100 Hz and 450 W cm(-2), respectively. Time-averaged IEDF measurements at 10 cm from a carbon target surface showed two distinct energy peaks one at low energy (similar to 0 eV) and the other at high energy (similar to 10 eV) for the detected species Ar+ and C+. The origin of these two peaks can be revealed using a time-resolved acquisition technique. It was found that the high energy peak (corresponding with an effective stopping voltage of 15 V) was created during the on-time phase of HiPIMS pulse while the low energy peak dominated the IEDF during the off-time. Increase of the operating pressure to 750 mPa results in the depletion of intensity and energy of the energetic peak. At the low pressure condition, with a mean-free-path comparable with the mass spectrometer orifice-target distance, energetic ions are transported ballistically to the instrument orifice. This suggests that forming well-structured films may be achieved in the condition of the collision-free operation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据