Abstract
The arrival of highly energetic (near 1000 eV) positive atomic oxygen ions at the substrate region has been detected in a unipolar reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering process operated with an uncooled copper target in argon–oxygen mixtures. Examination of the ion fluxes from discharge plasma was performed with a magnetic sector mass-spectrometer and an electrostatic energy analyzer. The energy of fast positive O+ ions is close to the value of eV d (e—elementary charge, V d—discharge voltage), which indicates their connection to the well-studied fraction of negative O− ions, which undergo acceleration in the cathode sheath. After switching the oxygen gas supply off, the flux of energetic O+ species decreases gradually as the poisoned target surface layers become depleted of oxygen due to sputtering in pure argon. Presumably, the observed energetic O+ ions originate as a result of low-angle scattering of fast negative O− ions from other charged or neutral species in the plasma followed by electron detachment, ionization, or charge exchange.
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