Discharge physics of magnetron sputtering

Magnetron sputtering has become the most widely used technique for thin film deposition and is utilized in numerous industrial applications. We provide a self-consistent and complete description of its dynamics. Examples are:

• Electron dynamics in Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering (RFMS) discharges
• Comparison of RFMS and DCMS discharges (in progress)
• Comparison of 1D and 2D PIC simulations for DCMS discharges
• Breathing oscillation and electron energization in magnetron discharges (in progress)
• Modulation effect of pulses in magnetron discharges (in progress)
• Discharge characteristics of HiPIMS via PIC simulation: Coulomb collisions, sputtering wind, multiply charged metal species, etc (in progress)

Another efficient tool for studying magnetron sputtering is the global model, which we used to study the discharge characteristics of HiPIMS and reactive HiPIMS, influence of geometric factors on plasma dynamics, and the influence of the target material in HiPIMS discharges.

Discharge physics of radio frequency plasmas

Radio frequency (RF) plasmas are widely used in numerous industrial applications. We have studied several fundamental issues in RF discharges and explored the design and optimization of some new RF plasma sources. Examples are:

• Similarity law and frequency scaling in CCP discharges
• Influence of metastable atoms and ballistic electrons in RF plasmas
• Reduction of capacitive coupling in inductively coupled plasmas
• Electron energization mechanism in one-dimensional and two-dimensional capacitively coupled plasmas
• Effect of acoustic modulation in capacitively coupled plasmas

Discharge physics of microplasmas

Microplasmas have received increasing attention in the last few decades for their wide range of applications in light sources, lasers, spectroscopy, surface processing and biomedicine. We have studied several fundamental issues of microplasma discharges. Some examples include:

• Electron kinetics and transition characteristics of microhollow cathode discharges
• Microplasma formation around microstructure arrays
• Discharge characteristics of plasma electrolysis