Modelling of plasma discharge for Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD)

Rim Ettouri [2023, ->], Ahmed Rhallabi, Pierre Yves Jouan    PhD student : Joelle Zgheib [2018-2021]

The emergence of the PVD pulse process known as HiPIMS (High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering), has the interest of improving film structural quality. On the other hand, the self-ionization phenomenon of the sputtered atoms makes the deposition more directional and therefore improves the step coverage of structures with a high aspect ratio (trenches, vias, etc.). These improvements are due to the application of a voltage of a few kilovolts on the cathode, lasting a few tens of microseconds and a frequency of the order of kilohertz. In order to better understand the physical phenomena in this type of discharge, we develop a global kinetic model applied to a chromium target bombarded by ions from an argon plasma discharge. The overall model aims to quantify the temporal evolution of the densities of neutral species from the gas or the target as well as the charged species. The HiPIMS Ar/Cr discharge study could be adapted to other types of gas mixtures and targets for other types of thin film deposition.

Keywords        Modelling, Simulation, PVD, HiPIMS, Thin films