Very low pressure high power impulse triggered magnetron sputtering
A method and apparatus are described for very low pressure high powered magnetron sputtering of a coating onto a substrate. By the method of this invention, both substrate and coating target material are placed into an evacuable chamber, and the chamber pumped to vacuum. Thereafter a series of high impulse voltage pulses are applied to the target. Nearly simultaneously with each pulse, in one embodiment, a small cathodic arc source of the same material as the target is pulsed, triggering a plasma plume proximate to the surface of the target to thereby initiate the magnetron sputtering process. In another embodiment the plasma plume is generated using a pulsed laser aimed to strike an ablation target material positioned near the magnetron target surface.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098; AC02-05CH11231
- Assignee:
- The Regents of the University of California (Oakland, CA)
- Patent Number(s):
- 8,568,572
- Application Number:
- 12/797,829
- OSTI ID:
- 1107788
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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