Cross-ionization of the sputtered flux during hybrid high power impulse/direct-current magnetron co-sputtering

Time-resolved ion mass spectrometry is used to analyze the type and the energy of metal-ion fluxes during hybrid high-power impulse/direct-current magnetron co-sputtering (HiPIMS/DCMS) in Ar. The study focuses on the effect of HiPIMS plasma plumes on the cross-ionization of the material flux sputtered from the DCMS source. Al, Si, Ti, and Hf elemental targets are used to investigate the effect of the metal’s first ionization potential $I P Me 1$ and mass on the extent of cross-ionization. It is demonstrated that the interaction with HiPIMS plasma results in the significant ionization of the material flux sputtered from the DCMS source. Experiments conducted with elements of similar mass but having different $I P Me 1$ values, Si and Al (Si-HiPIMS/Al-DCMS and Al-HiPIMS/Si-DCMS) reveal that the ionization of the DCMS flux is favored if the sputtered element has lower ionization potential than the one operating in the HiPIMS mode. If elements having similar $I P Me 1$ are used on both sources, the metal mass becomes a decisive parameter as evidenced by experiments involving Ti and Hf (Ti-HiPIMS/Hf-DCMS and Hf-HiPIMS/Ti-DCMS). In such a case, Ti⁺ fluxes during Hf-HiPIMS/Ti-DCMS may even exceed Hf⁺ fluxes from the HiPIMS cathode and are much stronger than Hf⁺ fluxes during Ti-HiPIMS/Hf-DCMS. The latter effect can be explained by the fact that heavier Hf⁺ ions require longer transit time from the ionization zone to the substrate, which effectively increases the probability of interaction between the Hf-HiPIMS plasma plume and the Ti-DCMS flux, thereby leading to higher Ti ionization. Thus, the common notion of low ionization levels associated with DCMS has to be revised if DCMS is used together with highly ionized plasmas such as HiPIMS operating at higher peak target currents. These results are particularly important for the film growth in the hybrid configuration with substrate bias pulses synchronized to specific ion types.