Abstract
A reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering system (HiPIMS) working in Ar + H2S gas mixture was investigated as a source for the deposition of iron sulfide thin films. As a sputtering material, a pure Fe target was used. Plasma parameters in this system were investigated by a time-resolved Langmuir probe, radio-frequency (RF) ion flux probe, quartz crystal monitor modified for measurement of the ionized fraction of depositing particles, and by optical emission spectroscopy. A wide range of mass flow rates of reactive gas H2S was used for the investigation of the deposition process. It was found that the deposition rate of iron sulfide thin films is not influenced by the flow rate of H2S reactive gas fed into the magnetron discharge although the target is covered by iron sulfide compound. The ionized fraction of depositing particles decreases from r ≈ 40% to r ≈ 20% as the flow rate of H2S, QH2S, changes from 0 to 19 sccm at the gas pressure around p ≈ 1 Pa in the reactor chamber. The electron concentration ne measured by the Langmuir probe at the position of the substrate decreases over this change of QH2S from 1018 down to 1017 m−3
Highlights
Reactive sputtering of sulfide thin films is still not a fully explored field
The results of current and voltage waveforms measurement of reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering system (HiPIMS) in Ar + H2 S gas mixture can be seen in Figure 3 for different mass flow rates of H2 S gas, QH2 S, in the range from 0 up to sccm and at the constant argon mass flow rate QAr = sccm
The pulse power applied to the HiPIMS discharge during the “ON” time was in the range Pp = 33–36 kW as marked at the particular graphs
Summary
A lot of effort was devoted to the research of direct-current (DC) or radio frequency (RF) sputtering methods of various sulfides [1,2,3] These can be semiconductor materials for example iron disulfide FeS2 in the pyrite phase reported as a p-type semiconductor [1,2,4] or an n-type semiconductor suitable as a photoanode in solar water splitting cells when the pyrite phase was mixed with a small fraction of marcasite [5]. High-powerimpulse impulsemagnetron magnetron sputtering system a relatively novel approach for deposition of thin films [17,18,19,20].
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