Comparing a 2D fluid model of the DC planar magnetron cathode to experiments

Abstract

Planar magnetron cathodes have arching magnetic field lines which concentrate plasma density near the electrode surface. This enhances the ion bombardment of the surface and the yield of sputtered atoms. Magnetron cathodes are used in the Plasma Electrode Pockels Cell (PEPC) devices of the Laser Program because they provide for significantly higher conduction than do glow discharges. An essential feature of magnetron cathodes is that the vector product of the perpendicular electric field, E[sub y], with the parallel component of the magnetic field, B[sub x], forms a closed track with a circulating current along the cathode surface. An analytical, 2D, two component, quasi-neutral, continuum model yields formulas for the plasma density, the total and component current densities, the electric field, and the positive electrical potential, between the cathode surface and a distant, uniform plasma. For a specific gas, the free parameters are electron temperature, gas number density, and total current. The model is applied to the interpretation of experimental data from the PEPC device, as well as a small vacuum facility for testing magnetron cathodes. Finally, the model has been applied to generate cross sectional views of a PEPC magnetron cathode track.