Ks. Mogensen et al., OPTICAL-EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY ON PULSED-DC PLASMAS USED FOR TIN DEPOSITIONS, Surface & coatings technology, 102(1-2), 1998, pp. 41-49
The plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition process in a large-scal
e industrial plant for coating of TIN on tool steels was investigated
by optical emission spectroscopy. Several atomic lines and molecular b
ands were identified. A parametric study of the dependence of bias vol
tage, total pressure and gas flows, H-2, N-2, Ar and TiCl4, on the pla
sma characteristics was performed to gain understanding of the influen
ce of the parameters on the deposition process. With the change of pro
cess parameters, large variations in the emitted light, corresponding
to changes in plasma conditions, were observed. In the parameter range
studied, the deposition rate depends linearly on the N-2(+) signal wh
en varying the pressure and the N-2 flow, whereas no clear correlation
between the OES signal and the deposition rate could be found for var
iations of the other parameters. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.