Coupled Magnetic Field Enhanced Arc Ion Plating: Process, Plasma and Deposited Film

Abstract

Based on the interaction mechanism of the plasma and the magnetic field, this paper has proposed the deposition process of coupled magnetic field to enhance the arc ion plating. Meanwhile, it has also analyzed the distribution, the polarity and the configuration of coupled magnetic field combining with the finite element simulation. The influence of coupled magnetic field on the distribution, the ionization rate, the surface quality of film and the deposition rate of arc ion plating has been also systematically discussed in this paper. What’s more, the reduction mechanism of coupled magnetic field for the marco-particles on film surface has been also proposed. The studies have shown that the DC coupled magnetic field can not only improve the focusing properties and the transmission uniformity of plasma, but also enhance the collision between ions and improve the ionization rate of plasma and the excitation illumination intensity of ions as well as improve the ion density. With the increase of the strength of DC coupled magnetic field, the number and the size of marco-particles on film surface have been greatly reduced and the deposition rate of film has been exponentially increased. The plasma has been gradually focalized and diverged under the influence of pulsation coupled magnetic field and formed the plasma with a dynamic distribution, which has enhanced the interaction between the plasma and the marco-particles as well as further purified the marco-particles.