In-situ analysis of metal atom, metal ion and argon ion fluxes in industrial magnetron sputtering with Al, Cr and AlCr targets
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0257897226002161 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2026.133364 |
| Keywords | Magnetron sputtering; DCMS; Industry; Coatings; IMFF; QCM |
| Attached files | |
| Description | This paper presents a study on the measurement of particle fluxes (Al, Al+, Cr, Cr+, Ar+) at the substrate position during magnetron sputtering deposition. The fluxes were investigated for pure aluminium and chromium targets, as well as their alloy. The industrial magnetron deposition system employs a novel focused magnetron sputtering technique, where only a small portion of the cylindrical target is sputtered at a given time because the plasma is confined to a narrow ring enclosing the target and, thanks to movable magnets, periodically moves over the entire length of the cylinder. This arrangement enables very high power densities (~625 W.cm-2) to be achieved using a continuous direct current power supply. Using a biasable quartz crystal microbalance system, both atomic and ionic fluxes of the metal particles were quantified. The same system, configured as a flat Langmuir probe in a saturated ion flux region, was also used to measure the total ion flux. To differentiate between the aluminium and chromium fluxes sputtered from the alloy target, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry of the deposited samples was used. This pioneering approach enables the quantification and differentiation of atomic and ionic species of film-forming elements, as well as the argon ion flux, which are critical parameters in thin-film deposition. Despite the ionised metal flux fraction of the sputtered species reaching around 15%, the flux of metal ions on the substrate is ten times lower than that of argon ions. |
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