Development of the modulated pulsed power(MPP) magnetron sputtering system and its discharge behavior

Modulated pulsed power(MPP) magnetron sputtering is a new kind of high power magnetron sputtering(HPPMS) technology.A control unit based on the STC12C5A60S2 chip was designed for the MPP system.It outputs multistep pulse waveforms,which can optimize high power pulsed magnetron sputtering process.In the MPP discharge mode,a high density plasma is induced by first producing a weakly ionized plasma followed by a transition to a strongly ionized plasma within one overall pulse.Discharge voltage has influence on the discharge current and pulse width,while the discharge pressure has great influence on the time of ignition and slight effect on discharge current.An additional ignition pulse may effectively lead to high power large current discharge even in low pressure.