How to Measure History Dependence of Transition States during Reactive Magnetron Sputtering
December 11, 2024 12:00 am
High quality compound coatings can be deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Optimal stoichiometry and properties of the produced coatings can be achieved by operating in a transition state of the reactive sputtering process. This state is, however, history-dependent and varies with the previous conditions used in the coating equipment. Moreover, the process conditions during the deposition can also drift due to long term effects. A discussed example is the drift of the discharge voltage as a consequence of the deposition of an insulating coating onto the vacuum chamber walls. This example was chosen because it hindered the validation of our computational model for reactive magnetron sputtering. The development of a new probe that compensates for the observed voltage drift not only advances our understanding of the reactive process, but also fixes the chosen transition state for thin film deposition.