Since its introduction by Kouznetsov et al. in 1999, the HIPIMS technology has seen a remarkable rise in interest from both academic and industrial viewpoint. Although the high ionization of the plasma and the resulting advantages for industrial sputter applications have been verified more than a decade ago, industrial usage of the metal ion sputtering technology has been limited due to various technical drawbacks.

Only recently, a various number of authors have reported the overcome of the hitherto existing disadvantages of the technology like low deposition rate, biasing issues, arcing and reliability of the technology.

The structural and mechanical properties of fullerene-like (FL) and amorphous carbon nitride (CN_x) films were deposited using High power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) in an industrial CC-800/9 CemeCon chamber and compared with films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering mode of operation.

Films of 1 μm and 2 μm thickness were grown on Si and steel substrates, respectively. Carbon nitride films were deposited via HPPMS from a high purity graphite target in an Ar/N₂ discharge at 400 mPa, the N₂ fraction varied from 0 to 0.5 and different substrate temperatures ranging from ambient temperature to 300°C were chosen. Furthermore, a novel HPPMS substrate pretreatment employing two HPPMS power supplies was used to optimize the adhesion of the films: the first power supply established the discharge; the second produced a pulsed substrate bias. The created Cr-plasma cleaned the substrate surface and formed a Cr-containing gradual interface into the substrate. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the microstructure of both, the films and the interfaces. The hardness and the elastic recovery of the CN_x films were measured using nanoindentation. A deposition process window is demonstrated for the growth of dense fullerene-like (FL) film structures consisting of curved, frequently intersecting, and highly in-plane oriented basal planes.

Deposition by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) is considered by some as the new paradigm of advanced sputtering technology, yet this is met with skepticism by others for the reported lower deposition rates, if compared to direct current (DC) sputtering of equal average power. In this contribution, absolute and relative (normalized) deposition rates are compared, and the underlying physical reasons for differences are discussed, including (i) ion return for self-sputtering, (ii) the less-than-linear increase of the sputtering yield with increasing ion energy, (iii) yield changes due to the shift of species responsible for sputtering, (iv) change in plasma impedance and sheath voltage, (v) changes in film density, (vi) noticeable losses in the switch module, (vii) changes of the magnetic balance and particle confinement of the magnetron due to self-fields at high current, and (viii) superposition of sputtering and evaporation for selected materials. The situation is even more complicated in reactive systems where the target surface chemistry is a function of the discharge conditions. While generally these factors imply a reduction of the normalized deposition rate, increased rates have been reported for certain conditions. Finally, some points of economics and “value added” are considered.

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS/HPPMS) has attracted considerable attention from industry due its ability to produce thin films and features of excellent adhesion, superior density, decreased roughness, and extreme conformity. The intense pulsed plasma density – on the order of 10¹⁸ m^-3 – provides a large concentration of metal ions that can be used to produce high-quality, homogeneous coatings. The high ionization fraction at the substrate allows for fine control of the sputtered species during deposition.

Modulated pulse power (MPP) can be employed to shape an arbitrary voltage waveform that is applied to the cathode. This programming freedom allows control over pulse duration, intensity, duty cycle, and average power. Voltage oscillations during the 1.0 – 3.0 ms pulse on the order of 25-65 kHz induce instabilities in the plasma discharge that may have a marked effect on the level of ionization within the discharge and distribution of the metal ions. The oscillation frequency range corresponds to the expected ion cyclotron angular frequencies. Past investigations of MPP have only revealed time-averaged plasma parameters, but knowledge of events during the pulse is required to further understanding of the physical mechanisms involved.

MPP discharges produced with a 1000 cm² circular planar magnetron were characterized. A gridded energy analyzer and quartz crystal microbalance were used to measure a higher ionization fraction than with conventional magnetron sputtering under a variety of deposition conditions. Nominal values of approximately 6% were attained for the sputtering of titanium at power densities as low as 100 W/cm². The energy spectrum and flux of these ions at the substrate location were also measured, finding the incident metal ions to be of low energy between 1 and 4 eV. Time-resolved plasma properties including saturation current, electron temperature, and density are measured and mapped over the three-dimensional space between the sputter target and substrate using a triple Langmuir probe. Plasma density is shown to decrease by greater than an order of magnitude between pulses. The effects of pulse duration, current density, pulse shape, switching frequency, and target material on the discharge are explored and discussed.