An electron-emitting (emissive) probe has been used to study the temporal and spatial distribution of the plasma potential during high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges with various substrate and magnetic field configurations. The average power was 700 W, with a repetition frequency of 100 Hz and pulse duration of 100 µs. Strongly negative plasma potentials exceeding −300 V and electric fields up to 10 kV m −1 , caused by strong separation of charges with net charge carrier densities n of about 10 14 m −3 , were observed during the ignition of the discharge. The spatial distribution of the plasma potential in the stable stage of the discharge showed values consistently 5 V more negative for a floating substrate compared with a grounded one, so enhancing electron transport around the insulated substrate to grounded walls. However, this change in the electrical configuration of the plasma does not alter significantly the fraction of ionized sputtered particles (of about 30%) that can potentially reach the substrate. By changing the degree of unbalance of the sputtering source, we find a strong correlation between the electric field strength in the magnetic trap (created through charge separation) and the absolute value (and shape) of the magnetic field. For the more unbalanced magnetron, a flattening of the plasma potential structure (decrease in the axial electric field) was observed close to the target. Our findings show in principle that manipulation of the potential barrier close to the target through changing the magnetic field can regulate the proportion of sputtered and ionized species reaching the substrate.

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The velocity and energy distribution functions of ions escaping radially from the magnetic trap region of a HiPIMS discharge have been measured using a retarding field analyzer (RFA). Spatially and angularly resolved measurements recorded at a representative time show more energetic ions detected along a line-of-sight coincident with an oncoming rotating ion fluid, which circulates above the racetrack in the same direction as the electron E × B drift. The difference in the mean ion energies between measurements made into and against the direction of rotation is ∼5 eV. Numerical solutions of the equation of motion for the ions accounting for azimuthal acceleration (modified two-stream instability model used by Lundin et al) have been found. The centripetal force caused by the radial electric field and a drag force term accounting for ion collisions revealed that only a small fraction (typically <5%) of the circulating ion flux can leave the discharge tangentially. Operating the discharge at different background pressures revealed an interplay between the azimuthal acceleration of ions, dominating under low pressure conditions and the scattering of ions into the RFA at higher pressure.

T h e o p e n -a c c e s s j o u r n a l f o r p h y s i c s Abstract. Time-resolved emissive probe measurements have been performed to study the spatio-temporal development of the plasma potential in an asymmetric bipolar pulsed magnetron discharge. The influence of the substrate potential as well as of the substrate position has been investigated while the further conditions were the same. To access the entire potential range which was between −100 V and + 400 V and to obtain sufficient time-resolution of the emissive probe, different heating currents had to be used. The plasma potential has been found to be typically close to zero in the 'on' phase, about + 40 V in the stable 'off' phase and up to + 400 V at the beginning of the 'off' phase, which is in agreement with the results of other authors. However, the positive values in the 'off' phase are generally lower than those reported and stay mostly below the target potential. This is explained by macroscopic considerations of the quasineutrality of the plasma taking into account a magnetic and geometrical shielding of the target, acting as an anode in the 'off' phase, and the potential and position of the substrate holder and environment. New Journal of Physics