The experimental approach into the influence of external inductance on the discharge characteristic of HiPIMS

Abstract

The main objective of the current paper is to describe the effect of external inductance (EI) on the current discharge waveforms of HiPIMS at different pulse-on time (P on) and its relation with static deposition rate and topographical properties of deposited titanium thin films, which is investigated by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. It has shown that the higher the EI, independent of the P on , the higher the peak power is. The delay time also extensively increases when an EI is implemented into the circuit. However, the rise time does not have a linear dependency with the EI and its behavior changes to some extent at different P on. By increasing the EI from zero to 30 mH at P on = 60 μs, the peak power subsequently rises from 11 to 32 kW at constant time-average power. Meanwhile, the deposition rate decreases from 8.5 to 1.5 nm/min, which is mainly attributed to the metal ions return to the target surface and nonlinear dependency of sputtering yield with applied voltage. It was also revealed that the higher peak power has no special effect on the surface roughness of titanium thin films deposited by HiPIMS.

Structural and electrical properties of V2O3 thin films on c-plane Al2O3 fabricated by reactive-HiPIMS and dcMS techniques

“…However, with further increase in peak power to 380 W a shift in peak position to lower values is observed. This shift is attributed to the self-sputtering process attained at higher peak power densities [41]. That is, with an increase in peak power density, electron temperature will increase leading to a higher ionization rate with a higher chance of multiply charged metal ions (MCMI) [41,42].…”

Generation of Charged Ti Nanoparticles and Their Deposition Behavior with a Substrate Bias during RF Magnetron Sputtering

“…Ti thin films are widely used in biomedical applications [1][2][3] and microelectronics [4,5] because of their outstanding properties such as good biocompatibility, excellent thermal and chemical stability [6]. Ti films are broadly prepared using various sputtering such as direct current (DC) sputtering [7][8][9][10][11], radio frequency (RF) sputtering [12], high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) [13][14][15], which is a well-established technique in industry to deposit thin films with high reproducibility and growth rate.…”

The Effect of Match between High Power Impulse and Bias Voltage: TiN Coating Deposited by High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering

“…A DC generator charges the bank of capacitors C in a pulsing unit; 2. Energy stored in the capacitors is then dissipated into plasma by fast-switching pulses with a clearly defined width and frequency [17]. HiPIMS power supplies with large capacitors tend to produce pulses of high currents, which is amenable to the deposition of high-density films with low surface roughness [17].…”

“…Energy stored in the capacitors is then dissipated into plasma by fast-switching pulses with a clearly defined width and frequency [17]. HiPIMS power supplies with large capacitors tend to produce pulses of high currents, which is amenable to the deposition of high-density films with low surface roughness [17]. In the event that the current exceeds a critical value, the output of the power supply is instantaneously cut off.…”