Global model on oscillation discharge characteristics during deep oscillation magnetron sputtering of Cr target

Abstract

A time-dependent global model is developed for deep oscillation magnetron sputtering (DOMS) with a Cr target to characterize the plasma using the working Ar gas at a pressure of 0.8 Pa. An input of the global model is the target voltage and current waveforms at charging voltages from 260 to 400 V. The plasma densities vary synchronously with the oscillations of target power. During the on-time of a micropulse, the gas atoms are ionized first to ignite the plasma and subsequently the metal ions follow to sustain the discharge. During the off-time, the gas ions dominate the afterglow. The DOMS possesses a characteristic of alternating gas/metal discharge in the time domain. The peak values of plasma densities increase linearly with charging voltages, which is mainly attributed to the higher Cr+ ion density. The discharge transits from gas dominated to metal dominated at high charging voltage. The working gas rarefaction in DOMS discharge is enhanced at higher charging voltages. At charging voltages higher than 360 V, the metal self-sputtering comes into the runaway regime temporarily as indicated by the self-sputtering parameters exceeding unity, generating the dense and metal-rich plasma. The metal self-sputtering is promoted by gas rarefaction. The electrons tend to ionize the metal atoms after the gas atoms are depleted. The decreased grain size and elevated nano-hardness of the Cr thin films are explained by structure transition from zone I to zone T due to the efficient metal ion bombardment to the growing thin films as the charging voltage increases.