Thermal effects in low-pressure plane plasma apparatus for thin films applications

Thermal effects in a low-pressure plane plasma discharge were obtained in a novel implementation of triode sputtering method. This plane plasma discharge is formed in a relatively low vapor pressure of 0.03-0.65 Pa. Electron beam temperature and ion beam concentration distribution, as well as their dependence on argon pressure within the plasma, were experimentally studied, using the Langmuir probe technique. The influence of an external magnetic field on the ion beam concentration, and electron beam temperature, were studied too. As a result of these studies, sputtering of various materials was done using the novel plane plasma discharge method. This method enables the deposition of homogeneous thin film coatings. Analysis is done on Cu sputtered layers with plane plasma discharge.