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Title: Very low pressure high power impulse triggered magnetron sputtering

Abstract

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.

Inventors:
;
Issue Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1107788
Patent Number(s):
8568572
Application Number:
12/797,829
Assignee:
The Regents of the University of California (Oakland, CA)
Patent Classifications (CPCs):
C - CHEMISTRY C23 - COATING METALLIC MATERIAL C23C - COATING METALLIC MATERIAL
H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01J - ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
DOE Contract Number:  
AC03-76SF00098; AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Patent
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION

Citation Formats

Anders, Andre, and Andersson, Joakim. Very low pressure high power impulse triggered magnetron sputtering. United States: N. p., 2013. Web.
Anders, Andre, & Andersson, Joakim. Very low pressure high power impulse triggered magnetron sputtering. United States.
Anders, Andre, and Andersson, Joakim. Tue . "Very low pressure high power impulse triggered magnetron sputtering". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1107788.
@article{osti_1107788,
title = {Very low pressure high power impulse triggered magnetron sputtering},
author = {Anders, Andre and Andersson, Joakim},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {2013},
month = {10}
}

Works referenced in this record:

Influence of high power densities on the composition of pulsed magnetron plasmas
journal, April 2002


Approaches to rid cathodic arc plasmas of macro- and nanoparticles: a review
journal, November 1999


Self-Sputtering Far above the Runaway Threshold: An Extraordinary Metal-Ion Generator
journal, January 2009


Fundamentals of pulsed plasmas for materials processing
journal, May 2004


Efficient, compact power supply for repetitively pulsed, “triggerless” cathodic arcs
journal, December 1999


Plasma “anti-assistance” and “self-assistance” to high power impulse magnetron sputtering
journal, April 2009


Streaming metal plasma generation by vacuum arc plasma guns
journal, February 1998