A pulsed DC gas flow hollow cathode

A new gas flow hollow cathode discharge source (GFHC) has been developed, characterized, and applied to thin film deposition by sputtering and low-temperature PECVD. Non-reactive and reactive sputtering processes were investigated using copper and aluminum targets, respectively. For the first time, pulsed DC power was applied to a GFHC in order to avoid arcing caused by electrode surface contamination, and to stabilize the discharge in general. The electrical characteristics of the source, the parameters of the remote plasma and its optical emission, were studied and compared to those of a DC powered GFHC.; We determined the electrical characteristics of the plasma, including the temporal behavior of the current and voltage under various conditions of pressure and inert gas flow through the cathode. The transition from a glow discharge mode to the hollow cathode mode was studied in an effort to determine the operating range of the GFHC. A capacitive current was discovered at the beginning of the on-time.; The properties of the remote plasma were investigated using averaged and time-resolved Langmuir probe and optical emission measurements. The distribution of the remote plasma density resembles the gas flow velocity distribution through the cathode. Plasma processes during off time (decaying plasma) and on-time (plasma reestablishment) were studied and compared to those in pulsed DC magnetron and high power inductively coupled glow discharges.; The dependence of the deposition rate, resistivity and thickness distribution of copper films dependence on pulse parameters, power, inert gas flow through the cathode and pressure have been studied. The thin film thickness distribution is governed by the distribution of the gas flow velocity, which can be calculated using laminar flow gas dynamics. In a pulsed DC GFHC system, the inert gas flow through the cathode prevents the penetration of the reactive gas from the chamber into the cathode. A special reactive gas delivery source placed near the substrate was used to alumina deposition.; The pulsed DC GFHC discharge is a reliable technology for sputter deposition of metallic and compound films. Scale-up of this technology and its application in industrial manufacturing is under way.