Synergistic Effect of Electric and Magnetic Fields on Ion-Current Enhancement in High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: An Experimental Study

We experimentally addressed the synergistic effect of electric and magnetic fields on ion-current enhancement in the lab-built High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (Hi PLMS) reactor. The results show that depending on the Hi PIMS voltage, coil excitation current and auxiliary anode orientation, the strong synergistic effect of the E-and M-fields significantly increased the substrate ion-current. To be specific, the synergistic effect, occurring under the proper conditions:at a Hi PIMS voltage of 580 V, a coil current of 4 A and an anode voltage over 50 V (or at the anode voltage of 70 V and coil current over 3 A), significantly increased the substrate ion-current. When the auxiliary anode was oriented at 45° with respect to cathode, the largest increased ion-currents were found at a spatial orientation of 0°, 45°, 90°, 135° and 180° because of the synergistic effect.