The Energy Flux to the Substrate in the High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering of Copper Films.

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) parameters such as the frequency, duration and amplitude of the discharge current pulses can be adjusted over a wide range to change the energy conditions for coating formation. This in turn leads to changes in the structure and properties of the deposited coatings. Measurement of the energy flux onto the substrate during high power pulse magnetron sputtering of copper is the subject of this paper. It is shown that for a fixed peak discharge current and average discharge power, a significant increase in the energy transferred to the coating can be achieved by reducing the duration of the current pulses. In this case, both the total energy flux onto the substrate and the normalized energy transferred per unit volume of the coating will be increased. The reasons for the increase in energy are examined in the paper. The ability to control the energy transferred to the coating by adjusting the HiPIMS pulse parameters is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]