The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering

Mixed-mode deposition of carbon is an extension of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering in which a short-lived arc is deliberately allowed to ignite on the target surface to increase the ionised fraction of carbon in the deposition flux. Here we investigate the ignition and evolution of these arc...

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Main Authors: Tucker, Mark, Putman, Kate, Ganesan, R., Lattemann, M., Stueber, M., Ulrich, S., Bilek, M., McKenzie, D., Marks, Nigel
Format: Journal Article
Published: IOP Publishing Ltd 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52102
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author Tucker, Mark
Putman, Kate
Ganesan, R.
Lattemann, M.
Stueber, M.
Ulrich, S.
Bilek, M.
McKenzie, D.
Marks, Nigel
author_facet Tucker, Mark
Putman, Kate
Ganesan, R.
Lattemann, M.
Stueber, M.
Ulrich, S.
Bilek, M.
McKenzie, D.
Marks, Nigel
author_sort Tucker, Mark
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Mixed-mode deposition of carbon is an extension of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering in which a short-lived arc is deliberately allowed to ignite on the target surface to increase the ionised fraction of carbon in the deposition flux. Here we investigate the ignition and evolution of these arcs and examine their behaviour for different conditions of argon pressure, power supply voltage, and current. We find that mixed-mode deposition is sensitive to the condition of the target surface, and changing the operating parameters causes changes in the target surface condition which themselves affect the discharge in a process of negative feedback. Initially the arcs are evenly distributed on the target racetrack, but after a long period of operation the mode of erosion changes and arcs become localised in a small region, resulting in a pronounced nodular structure. We also quantify macroparticle generation and observe a power-law size distribution typical of arc discharges. Fewer particles are generated for operation at lower Ar pressure when the arc spot velocity is higher.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2017
publisher IOP Publishing Ltd
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-521022017-10-13T01:59:14Z The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering Tucker, Mark Putman, Kate Ganesan, R. Lattemann, M. Stueber, M. Ulrich, S. Bilek, M. McKenzie, D. Marks, Nigel Mixed-mode deposition of carbon is an extension of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering in which a short-lived arc is deliberately allowed to ignite on the target surface to increase the ionised fraction of carbon in the deposition flux. Here we investigate the ignition and evolution of these arcs and examine their behaviour for different conditions of argon pressure, power supply voltage, and current. We find that mixed-mode deposition is sensitive to the condition of the target surface, and changing the operating parameters causes changes in the target surface condition which themselves affect the discharge in a process of negative feedback. Initially the arcs are evenly distributed on the target racetrack, but after a long period of operation the mode of erosion changes and arcs become localised in a small region, resulting in a pronounced nodular structure. We also quantify macroparticle generation and observe a power-law size distribution typical of arc discharges. Fewer particles are generated for operation at lower Ar pressure when the arc spot velocity is higher. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52102 10.1088/1361-6463/aa5bcf IOP Publishing Ltd restricted
spellingShingle Tucker, Mark
Putman, Kate
Ganesan, R.
Lattemann, M.
Stueber, M.
Ulrich, S.
Bilek, M.
McKenzie, D.
Marks, Nigel
The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
title The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
title_full The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
title_fullStr The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
title_full_unstemmed The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
title_short The behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
title_sort behaviour of arcs in carbon mixed-mode high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52102