Characterization of energetic and thermalized sputtered tungsten atoms using tuneable diode-laser induced fluorescence in direct current magnetron discharge

In this study a tuneable diode-laser induced fluorescence (TD-LIF) technique (λ0 = 407.4358 nm) is used to determine the atoms' velocity distribution function (AVDF) of energetic and thermalized sputtered tungsten (W) atoms in direct current magnetron discharge. The AVDF is characterized by probing the plasma above the centre of the target racetrack along the magnetron cathode axis in an argon–helium (Ar–He) mixture. Quantitative absorption measurements corroborated by deposition on silicon substrates are used to calibrate the TD-LIF relative measurements. Density, flux, temperature, AVDF and the flux velocity distribution function are derived from fitting the TD-LIF signals with four Gaussians (thermalized atoms) and four (energetic atom) functions (Stepanova and Dew 2004 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 215 357) taking into account the natural abundance and resonance wavelength shifts of the four main isotopes. Measurements show transport improvement for W atoms and an increase of the ratio of Ar ions to Ar neutrals with the increase of the percentage of He. All measurements are performed at 0.4 Pa and 100 W. The mean velocity of energetic W atoms typically ranges from 1900 to 2200 m s−1. The densities of thermalized and energetic atoms are in the same order of magnitude (~109 cm−3) and their corresponding fluxes are several tens of times higher for energetic atoms (~1015 cm−2 s−1).