Cathodic plasma polymerization and treatment by anode magnetron torch: II.The influence of operating parameters on the argon sputtering rate distribution

In this study, the distribution of argon sputtering rate on the cathode sur face was used to investigate the anode magnetron torch plasma system: which was developed fnr large substrate surface treatment. The Ar sputtering rat e was estimated using the colorimetric method. The experimental results sho wed that a uniform sputtering rate could be achieved by adjusting the dista nce between the two electrodes, because a suitable electrode distance creat es a uniform magnetic field near the cathode surface. A small gap distance can increase the Ar sputtering rate in the focused area, but also creates d eposition near the vicinity or outside of the edge of the glass tube, which is used to focus the gas flow. The optimum gap distance is equal to the ca thodic dark space thickness at the edge of the glass tube; this configurati on maintains a high sputtering rate in the focused area, but does not allow deposition to occur near the vicinity or outside of the edge of the glass tube. A higher Ar sputtering rate can be achieved under low system pressure . At low system pressure, a high magnetic-field strength is important for i ncreasing the Ar sputtering rate, as it improves the magnetic confinement o f electrons. (C) 1999 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(99)04606-0].