The Effects of Pulse Length Shortening on Average Substrate Current Density in High Power Impulse Magnetron Discharges

Abstract

The paper is presenting results of experimental and theoretical studies of short and ultrashort regimes of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. In experimental part it was demonstrated that the decreasing of the discharge voltage duration leads to a significant increase of the average ion current density to the substrate for the fixed mean discharge power. The use of a spatially averaged magnetron discharge model confirms this experimental trend and provides a theoretical explanation for it.