Magnesium plasma diagnostics by heated probe and characterization of the Mg thin films deposited by thermionic vacuum arc technology

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to report on magnesium plasma diagnostics and to investigate the properties of thin Mg films deposited on Si and glass substrates by using thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) technology. TVA is an original deposition method using a combination of anodic arc and powerful electron gun system (up to 600 W) for the growth of thin films from solid precursors under a vacuum of 10 −6 Torr. Due to the comparatively high deposition rate as well as comparatively high plasma potential-around 0.5 kV-plasma diagnostics were carried out by a heated probe that prevents layer deposition on the probe surface. The estimated value of electron density was in the order of 1.0 × 10 16 m −3 and the electron temperature varied between 4 × 10 4 and 1.2 × 10 5 K (corresponding to two different discharge conditions). The thin Mg films were investigated using SEM images and TEM analyses provided with HR-TEM and SAED facilities. According to the SAED patterns the structure of the films can be indexed as two forms: hexagonal structure for Mg and cubic structure for MgO; the peak value of grain size distribution was 91.29 nm in diameter for Mg TVA/Si and 61.06 nm for Mg TVA/Gl.

Characterization of Platinum-Based Thin Films Deposited by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) Method

“…The evaporation systems between the electrodes behave like point sources, placed in certain positions in the vacuum chamber. The absence of a filling gas in the chamber contributes to a minimum of inclusions in the obtained film, and the low surface of the generated plasma allows the use of multiple anodes [27].…”

The Properties of Binary and Ternary Ti Based Coatings Produced by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) Technology

“…The TVA method uses an electron beam emitted by an externally heated cathode accelerated by a high anodic voltage [27][28][29]. A Wehnelt cylinder is used to focus the electrons on the anode surface.…”

Thermionic Vacuum Arc—A Versatile Technology for Thin Film Deposition and Its Applications

“…The probe temperature must be higher than the boiling point of a material to be deposited in the TVA system. Measurements of plasma parameters in the TVA discharge in Mg and in Mg-Zn vapors by a heated probe have been performed in [78] and [79], respectively. In the latter, also the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) was determined from the second derivative of the heated probe characteristic with respect to the probe voltage, see Figure 20.…”