This article analyzes a pulsed magnetron discharge. Main attention is devoted to the specific behavior of the pulsed discharge. The time development of pulsed discharge is composed of three regimes of operation: (1) plasma buildup, (2) stationary plasma, and (3) decaying plasma when the pulse power is off. The duration of individual regimes strongly depends on the pulse length the repetition frequency of pulses, the power delivered into the discharge, and the operating pressure. The proportion of duration of the regime of plasma buildup to the regime of stationary plasma in the pulse dramatically influences the I–V characteristics of the pulsed discharge and the deposition rate of sputtered films. The I–V characteristics of an unbalanced round planar magnetron with a Cu target 100 mm in diameter are shown. The deposition rate of Cu films sputtered with the pulsed magnetron is also given.
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March 2001
Research Article|
March 01 2001
Pulsed dc magnetron discharge for high-rate sputtering of thin films
Jindřich Musil;
Jindřich Musil
Department of Physics, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitnı́ 22, 306 14 Plzeň, Czech Republic
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Jan Leština;
Jan Leština
Department of Physics, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitnı́ 22, 306 14 Plzeň, Czech Republic
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Jaroslav Vlček;
Jaroslav Vlček
Department of Physics, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitnı́ 22, 306 14 Plzeň, Czech Republic
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Tomáš Tölg
Tomáš Tölg
Department of Physics, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitnı́ 22, 306 14 Plzeň, Czech Republic
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J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 19, 420–424 (2001)
Article history
Received:
May 04 2000
Accepted:
November 13 2000
Citation
Jindřich Musil, Jan Leština, Jaroslav Vlček, Tomáš Tölg; Pulsed dc magnetron discharge for high-rate sputtering of thin films. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 1 March 2001; 19 (2): 420–424. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.1339018
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