Ion flux characteristics in high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering discharges

Department of Physics, University of West Bohemia - Univerzitní 22, 30614 Plzeň, Czech Republic

Received: 22 September 2006
Accepted: 12 December 2006

Abstract

High-power pulsed dc magnetron discharges for ionized high-rate sputtering of copper films were investigated. The repetition frequency was 1 kHz at a fixed duty cycle and argon pressures of 0.5 Pa and 5 Pa. Time evolutions of the discharge characteristics were measured at a target power density in a pulse up to . Time-averaged mass spectroscopy was performed at substrate positions. It was shown that copper ions are strongly dominant (up to ) in total ion fluxes onto the substrate. Their energy distributions with a broadened low-energy part at a lower pressure are extended to higher energies (up to 45 eV relative to ground potential for the target-to-substrate distance of 100 mm).