Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
P. Klein, J. Hnilica, M. Fekete, M. Slapanska, P. Vasina
Summary: In high-power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge, plasma self-organizes into ionization zones rotating in the E x B direction, known as spokes. Research shows that increasing nitrogen content in the reactive mixture significantly affects the shape, velocity, and mode number of the spokes. Surprisingly, experiments with different targets showed no real differences in spoke behavior.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Martin Rudolph, Adrien Revel, Daniel Lundin, Hamidreza Hajihoseini, Nils Brenning, Michael A. Raadu, Andre Anders, Tiberiu M. Minea, Jon Tomas Gudmundsson
Summary: The study applies the ionization region model and the Orsay Boltzmann equation for electrons to analyze the electron kinetics of HiPIMS discharge, demonstrating a strong agreement between the two models. The assumption of a bi-Maxwellian electron energy distribution is a good approximation for modeling the discharge.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chin-Chiuan Kuo
Summary: In this study, carbon-chromium carbide-chromium multilayer coatings were successfully deposited with different numbers of layers and thicknesses by altering the gas mixture ratios. Reduction in modulation period effectively influenced the elastic modulus of the coatings, leading to improved adhesion strength and wear resistance.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chin-Chiuan Kuo, Shu-Ping Chang
Summary: In the deposition of chromium-carbon films, increasing the ethyne ratio results in a linear increase in carbon content, a transition in microstructure from dense glassy to columnar or clustered, and a decrease in sp2-C bonding while an increase in Cr-C bonding with decreasing ethyne ratio. These changes lead to a shift from a hydrogenated amorphous carbon phase to a glassy amorphous chromium carbide phase, significantly impacting film hardness and elasticity.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Swetha Suresh Babu, Martin Rudolph, Daniel Lundin, Tetsuhide Shimizu, Joel Fischer, Michael A. Raadu, Nils Brenning, Jon Tomas Gudmundsson
Summary: The ionization region model (IRM) was used to simulate a high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge with a tungsten target. The study found that the initial peak in the discharge current was caused by argon ions bombarding the cathode target, after which W+ ions became the dominant ions and contributed to the total discharge current. Additionally, the findings were in good agreement with experimentally determined deposition rates.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Physics, Applied
M. Rudolph, N. Brenning, H. Hajihoseini, M. A. Raadu, T. M. Minea, A. Anders, J. T. Gudmundsson, D. Lundin
Summary: The magnetic field is a key feature that distinguishes magnetron sputtering from simple diode sputtering. This article analyzes the influence of the magnetic field on electron density and temperature, discharge voltage distribution, and electron heating mechanism in high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges. The results provide insights into adjusting electron density and temperature, as well as their impact on ionization probability.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
H. Eliasson, M. Rudolph, N. Brenning, H. Hajihoseini, M. Zanaska, M. J. Adriaans, M. A. Raadu, T. M. Minea, J. T. Gudmundsson, D. Lundin
Summary: By applying the ionization region model (IRM), it is found that in high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge in argon with a graphite target, Ar+ ions dominate the discharge current, while the ionization of carbon atoms remains challenging.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Coatings & Films
J. T. Gudmundsson, J. Fischer, B. P. Hinriksson, M. Rudolph, D. Lundin
Summary: The ionization region model (IRM) is used to model high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges with a Cu target. By applying the model to three previously explored discharges and thin copper film deposition, the internal plasma process parameters are quantified to understand the differences between these discharges. It is found that Cu+ ions dominate the ion current to the target surface and that self-sputter recycling is the main mechanism for reaching high discharge currents.
SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Swetha Suresh Babu, Martin Rudolph, Peter John Ryan, Joel Fischer, Daniel Lundin, James W. Bradley, Jon Tomas Gudmundsson
Summary: In this study, we compared the ionization region model (IRM) with experimental measurements to analyze particle densities and electron temperature in a high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge. The semi-empirical model accurately predicted the temporal variations of various species densities and electron energy based on measured discharge current and voltage waveforms for a specific cathode target material. Although the model underestimated electron density and overestimated electron temperature, it successfully captured the temporal trends of species densities and electron temperature.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Nils Brenning, Hamidreza Hajihoseini, Martin Rudolph, Michael A. Raadu, Jon Tomas Gudmundsson, Tiberiu M. Minea, Daniel Lundin
Summary: Investigation into optimizing high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharge by mixing two different power levels in the pulse pattern, allowing separate optimization of ion and neutral atom production through adjusting various process parameters to achieve the best power split for film-forming flux to the substrate.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Liuhe Li, Jiabin Gu, Yi Xu, Mingyue Han, Marcela Milena Marie Bilek
Summary: This article proposes a method to improve the deposition rate of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) by extracting ions from the ionization region near the HiPIMS target using a positive ions extraction pulse. The process of ions extraction is investigated through simulations, experiments, and theoretical study, and the effectiveness of the extraction method is verified.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Nastja Mahne, Miha Cekada, Matjaz Panjan
Summary: In this study, the authors used the SRIM program to simulate the energy of sputtered atoms and analyzed the energy distribution functions (EDFs) and average energies of the atoms in different directions for various target materials and Ar ion energies. The results showed that the SRIM simulations gave realistic EDFs for transition metals but not for lighter elements than Si. All EDFs exhibited a low-energy peak close to half of the surface binding energy and a high-energy tail decreasing as approximately E^2. Overall, the study provides insights into controlling the microstructure and physical properties of thin films through the energy of sputtered atoms.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wudong Liu, Dongling Jiao, Hongzhen Ding, Wanqi Qiu, Xichun Zhong, Zongwen Liu
Summary: Insufficient corrosion resistance and conductivity hinder the wide application of stainless steel bipolar plates. This study explores the use of CrN monolayer and multilayer films to improve the performance of SS304 bipolar plates. The effect of pulse width on the film structure and composition was characterized, and the best performance was achieved with a single long pulse of 40 ms.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chin-Chiuan Kuo, Chun-Hui Lin, Jing-Tang Chang, Yu-Tse Lin
Summary: The microstructure of Zr film is influenced by the energy of plasma species, particularly by the discharge pulse width in HiPIMS process. Increasing argon pressure and substrate biasing decreases the film growth rate, while elongating the HiPIMS pulse width alters the microstructure of films. High charged ions are found during short HiPIMS pulse width at 0.8 Pa argon, leading to changes in film structure.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
V. O. Oskirko, V. D. Semenov, A. A. Solovyev, S. Rabotkin, A. P. Pavlov, A. N. Zakharov
Summary: High-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is a new and rapidly developing method for physical vapor deposition of thin films. Compared to conventional DC magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and mid-frequency magnetron sputtering (MFMS), HiPIMS coatings show better properties. However, HiPIMS has some drawbacks that make its application challenging. This paper proposes an analytical simulation model to describe the discharge current and voltage during arcing in HiPIMS. It also compares different types of HiPIMS power supplies and investigates the effect of arc energy on the defects in the obtained coatings.
