Mitigating the geometrical limitations of conventional sputtering by controlling the ion-to-neutral ratio during high power pulsed magnetron sputtering

High power pulsed magnetron sputtering has been used to grow thin chromium layers on substrates facing and orthogonal to the target. It is demonstrated that at low peak target current density, j(T)<0.6 A/cm(2) corresponding to a low ion-to-neutral flux ratio, films grown on substrates facing the target exhibit in-plane alignment. This is due to the rectangular shape of the target that yields an asymmetry in the off-normal flux of sputtered species. With increasing j(T) the biaxial alignment degrades, as the major portion of the incoming flux (ions) can be effectively steered by the electric field of the substrate to remove asymmetry imposed by geometrical restrictions. Eventually, at j(T)=1.7 A/cm(2) a fiber texture is obtained. For films grown on substrates orthogonal to the target, the large column tilt characteristic for growth at low j(T), decreases with increasing ion content in the flux and almost disappears at the highest value of j(T). The latter indicates that material flux to the substrate is highly ionized so that deposition takes place along substrate normal despite the high nominal inclination angle. Thus, in the limit of high j(T) the artifacts of conventional physical vapor deposition, resulting from the line-of-sight deposition, are effectively eliminated and the film growth proceeds more or less unaffected by the substrate orientation. Samples mounted orthogonally thus possess a similar texture, morphology, and topography as those facing the target. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.