Boron-rich plasma by high power impulse magnetron sputtering of lanthanum hexaboride
- State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, Tomsk (Russian Federation)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
Boron-rich plasmas have been obtained using a LaB{sub 6} target in a high power impulse sputtering (HiPIMS) system. The presence of {sup 10}B{sup +}, {sup 11}B{sup +}, Ar{sup 2+}, Ar{sup +}, La{sup 2+}, and La{sup +} and traces of La{sup 3+}, {sup 12}C{sup +}, {sup 14}N{sup +}, and {sup 16}O{sup +} have been detected using an integrated mass and energy spectrometer. Peak currents as low as 20 A were sufficient to obtain plasma dominated by {sup 11}B{sup +} from a 5 cm planar magnetron. The ion energy distribution function for boron exhibits an energetic tail extending over several 10 eV, while argon shows a pronounced peak at low energy (some eV). This is in agreement with models that consider sputtering (B, La) and gas supply (from background and 'recycling'). Strong voltage oscillations develop at high current, greatly affecting power dissipation and plasma properties.
- OSTI ID:
- 22089503
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 112, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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