MODELING OF AN AR-O-2 REACTIVE MAGNETRON DISCHARGE USED FOR DEPOSITION OF CHROMIUM-OXIDE

In connection with experimental work on the optical emission spectrosc opy (OES) analysis of a magnetron discharge working in reactive Ar-O-2 and N-2-O-2 gases, we developed a collisional-radiative model for the Ar-O-2 plasma. We consider here low-pressure conditions under which t he transport of neutral particles corresponds to a free-fall regime ra ther than to a diffusive one. This model solves self-consistently the Boltzmann equation for electrons in the magnetized region (negative gl ow) of the discharge and the kinetic equations for argon and for molec ular and atomic oxygen states. Positive and negative ion state densiti es are also calculated. We study the dependence of the densities of th ese species on experimental parameters such as the discharge current a nd the relative O-2 concentration. The results are compared with optic al emission spectroscopy experimental results.