Modification of cathodic arc deposition profiles by magnetic multicusps

The deposition profile of a cathodic arc plasma source with and without magnetic macroparticle filter has been measured using a deposition probe technique. It has been found that the profile is close to a Gaussian and that the width of the profile depends on the cathode material. It was found that the dependence on the cathode material leads to a considerable radial variation of the elemental composition of the film when an alloy cathode is used. A magnetic multicusp field (magnetic bucket) near the exit of the plasma source or the magnetic filter was applied to flatten and homogenize the deposition profile.