[3Cp01-06] ISSP2024 pre-session - A new dawn of sputtering and plasma processes: Sputtering and Plasma Processes Division's Session

[3Cp05] New routes towards lowering energy consumption during magnetron sputtering: benefits of high-mass metal-ion irradiation

*Grzegorz Greczynski¹, Ivan Petrov², Lars Hultman¹ (1. Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics (IFM), Linköping University, 2. Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois (USA))

Lowering energy consumption during thin film growth made by magnetron sputtering techniques becomes of particular importance in view of sustainable development goals. As a large fraction of the process energy is consumed for substrate heating with the purpose of providing sufficient adatom mobility to grow dense films, the most straightforward strategy towards more environment-friendly processing is to find alternatives to the thermally activated surface diffusion. A promising route is offered by high-mass metal ion irradiation from HiPIMS source, which is very effective in densification of transition metal nitride layers grown with no external heating, such that Zone 2 microstructures of the structure-zone model are obtained in the substrate temperature T_s range otherwise typical for Zone 1 growth. The major fraction of process energy is used at the sputtering sources and for film densification, rather than for heating of the entire vacuum vessel.