Modeling and plasma characteristics of high-power direct current discharge
L. Chen, Suihan Cui, Wei Tang, Lin Zhou, Tijun Li, Liangliang Liu, Xiaokai An, Zhongcan Wu, Zhengyong Ma, Hai Lin, Xiubo Tian, Ricky K.Y. Fu, Paul K. Chu, Zhongzhen Wu
Abstract
Abstract To obtain both high ionization and high deposition rate, a modified global model for a continuous high-power DC magnetron sputtering (C-HPMS) is established by considering the continuous generation of the hot electrons and the high temperature caused by continuous high-power discharge. The results show that the plasma density is on the order of 10 19 m −3 for power densities of only 183 W cm −2 (Al) and 117 W cm −2 (Cu). The ionization rate exceeds 90% of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) (peak power density of 564 W cm −2 ) for a DC power density of 180 W cm −2 , and the total diffusion fluxes of the two targets are 26 (Al) and 30 (Cu) times that of conventional HiPIMS, leading to very high deposition rates. The work provides a theoretical basis for the realization of C-HPMS and gives an enlightenment to the development of deposition equipment for continuous high-power discharges.