Influence of nitrogen admixture to argon on the ion energy distribution in reactive high power pulsed magnetron sputtering of chromium

Breilmann, Wolfgang; Maszl, Christian; Hecimovic, A.; Keudell, Achim von

doi:10.1088/1361-6463/aa5bfc

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Importantly, previous ion mass spectrometry measurements, conducted during Ti HIPIMS in Ar/N 2 atmos phere in the same deposition system as used for the present experiments, revealed that gas ion fluxes at the substrate are dominated by N + rather than N + 2 , with Ar + , N + 2 , and N + contrib utions amounting to 36, 17, and 47%, respectively [38]. This is also consistent with other reports on reactive HIPIMS of transition metal targets [43,44]. Therefore, in the following simulations we assumed that the population of reactive gas ions during HIPIMS is dominated by N + implying E Ar + = E N +.…”

supporting

confidence: 92%

Substantial difference in target surface chemistry between reactive dc and high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Greczyński

Mráz

Schneider

et al. 2018

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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Advanced functional coatings with applications ranging from wear-resistant layers on cutting tools [1,2] to diffusion barriers in electronic devices [3,4] are often produced with the advantage of reactive magnetron sputtering under high vacuum conditions. The presence of a reactive gas, however, leads not only to the desired compound formation at the substrate, but also to a simultaneous chemisorption at the target that is covered with a compound layer by so-called target poisoning. This results in severe reduction of the sputtering rate and large off-sets in the process parameter operating points, because of the change in the secondary electron emission yield and the chemical composition of the sputtered flux, as well as the energy distribution thereof, [5,6] ion implantation effects, [7] and process hysteresis [8].

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supporting

confidence: 92%

Substantial difference in target surface chemistry between reactive dc and high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Greczyński

Mráz

Schneider

et al. 2018

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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“…The racetrack area corresponds roughly to the projection of the most ionized plasma region, which is confined in a torus above the target. Such specific area changes generally with power conditions and gas composition [32]. It is also worth noting that the voltage-power curves shown in figure 2 depend on the target history (the same target was used in all experiments so that the degree of racetrack erosion increased with time).…”

Section: Voltage-power Density Characteristics In R-hipimsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Connection between target poisoning and current waveforms in reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering of chromium

Layes¹,

Corbella²,

Monje³

et al. 2018

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Global models of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) plasmas in the literature predict a unique connection between target current waveform and oxidation state of the target (metallic versus poisoned): in the metallic mode, the current waveform reaches a plateau due to metal atom recycling, in the poisoned mode a triangular current waveform is predicted driven by plasma gas recycling. This hypothesis of such a unique connection is tested by measuring the surface chemical composition of chromium magnetron targets directly during reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (r-HiPIMS) by spatially resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The sputtering setup was connected to the ultra-high vacuum XPS spectrometer so that the targets could be transferred between the two chambers without breaking the vacuum. The O2/Ar feed gas ratio, the input power and the pulse frequency of the HiPIMS plasmas were varied. The racetrack oxidation state was measured for different plasma parameters and correlated to the target current waveform shape. It was found that a shift of the target operation from the poisoned mode at low powers to the metallic mode at high powers when operating the discharge at 20 Hz pulse frequency occurs. The transition between these modes was directly correlated with analysis of the Cr2p core level peak on the complete target area. A unique correlation between the metallic and poisoned state of the target and the plateau and triangular current waveform was identified for very low powers and very high powers. In the intermediate power range, such a unique connection is absent. It is argued that the presence of already a small fraction of metal on the target may induce a plateau current waveform despite a significant oxidation of the target. This implies a finite contribution of metal sputtering during the pulse that dominates the recycling and leads to a plateau current waveform. Consequently, the shape of current waveforms cannot easily be connected to target poisoning, but a more detailed modeling of the recycling mechanisms is required.

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“…The discharge was ignited by supplying power from a HiPIMS power supply (SPIK1000A, MELEC GmbH). The power supply was connected to the magnetron through a home made inductive-resistive (LR) matchbox (more details in [26]). The power supply was operated in voltage control mode.…”

Section: Discharge Chambermentioning

confidence: 99%

First measurements of the temporal evolution of the plasma density in HiPIMS discharges using THz time domain spectroscopy

Meier

Hecimovic

Tsankov

et al. 2018

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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In this paper the novel technique of THz time domain spectroscopy has been applied to obtain time-resolved measurements of the plasma density in the active zone of a HiPIMS discharge with a titanium target. The obtained peak values are in the range of 10 12 -10 13 cm −3 for discharge current densities of 1 to 4 A/cm 2 at 0.5 and 2 Pa argon pressure. The measured densities show good correlation with the discharge current and voltage and the intensity of various atomic and ionic lines. The well known phases of the discharge have been identified and related to the variation of the electron density. The measurement results show that the plasma density remains nearly constant during the runaway/self-sputtering phase. Based on that it is conjectured that singly charged titanium ions are the dominant ion species during this phase.

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Influence of nitrogen admixture to argon on the ion energy distribution in reactive high power pulsed magnetron sputtering of chromium

Cited by 17 publications

References 24 publications

Substantial difference in target surface chemistry between reactive dc and high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Substantial difference in target surface chemistry between reactive dc and high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Connection between target poisoning and current waveforms in reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering of chromium

First measurements of the temporal evolution of the plasma density in HiPIMS discharges using THz time domain spectroscopy

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