A strategy for increased carbon ionization in magnetron sputtering discharges

A strategy that facilitates a substantial increase of carbon ionization in magnetron sputtering discharges is presented in this work. The strategy is based on increasing the electron temperature in a high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge by using Ne as the sputtering gas. This allows for the generation of an energetic C+ ion population and a substantial increase in the C+ ion flux as compared to a conventional Ar-HiPIMS process. A direct consequence of the ionization enhancement is demonstrated by an increase in the mass density of the grown films up to 2.8 g/cm(3); the density values achieved are substantially higher than those obtained from conventional magnetron sputtering methods. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.