Radial profile of energetic particles bombarding the substrate in a glow discharge

Abstract

We have analyzed in an interrelated way the main processes that occur in a glow discharge system: generation of the energetic particles that strike the cathode, emission of sputtered and reflected atoms from the cathode, and transport of these particles through the plasma, until their eventual arrival to the substrate. As an output of our calculations we have obtained the radial profiles of the energy and the number of particles that reach the substrate, as a function of the geometrical characteristics and pressure of the discharge. Our results show that the main part of the energy deposited in the substrate comes from the reflected gas atoms, in spite of the larger number of sputtered cathode atoms.

Optical properties and structure of HfO2thin films grown by high pressure reactive sputtering

“…The structural analysis of the HfO 2 films by XRD and FTIR spectroscopy has shown that only a deposition with pure Ar plasma produces amorphous samples, while the introduction of any amount of oxygen in the plasma makes the film polycrystalline [32]. It is well known that the structure and physical properties of thin films grown in a glow discharge system strongly depend on the spatial distribution of the energy deposited by the particles that arrive at the substrate [42,43]. Moreno-Marín et al [42] have shown that during their travel through the plasma, the atoms reflected at the cathode lose less energy than the sputtered ones, so the former play a much more significant role than the latter in the deposition of energy at the substrate.…”

“…It is well known that the structure and physical properties of thin films grown in a glow discharge system strongly depend on the spatial distribution of the energy deposited by the particles that arrive at the substrate [42,43]. Moreno-Marín et al [42] have shown that during their travel through the plasma, the atoms reflected at the cathode lose less energy than the sputtered ones, so the former play a much more significant role than the latter in the deposition of energy at the substrate. According to the work of these authors, the number of sputtered atoms that land onto the substrate is appreciably larger than the number of reflected plasma particles, but the reflected particles carry the main part of the energy.…”

Studies on RF magnetron sputtered HfO2 thin films for microelectronic applications

“…It is well known that in reactive sputtering, physical properties of the films strongly depend on spatial distribution of deposited energy particles that arrive at the substrate. [23,24] In the plasma region of the cathode, oxygen ions are accelerated and reflected to higher velocities than argon. So the higher velocity of the reflected oxygen atoms reduces their scattering probability by plasma species and deposit with more energy on the substrate.…”