A high power impulse magnetron sputtering model to explain high deposition rate magnetic field configurations

High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) is one of the recent developments in the field of magnetron sputtering technology that is capable of producing high performance, high quality thin films. Commercial implementation of HiPIMS technology has been a huge challenge due to its lower deposition rates compared to direct current Magnetron Sputtering. The cylindrically symmetric "TriPack" magnet pack for a 10 cm sputter magnetron that was developed at the Center for Plasma Material Interactions was able to produce higher deposition rates in HiPIMS compared to conventional pack HiPIMS for the same average power. The "TriPack" magnet pack in HiPIMS produces superior substrate uniformity without the need of substrate rotation in addition to producing higher metal ion fraction to the substrate when compared to the conventional pack HiPIMS [Raman et al., Surf. Coat. Technol. 293, 10 (2016)]. The films that are deposited using the "TriPack" magnet pack have much smaller grains compared to conventional pack DC and HiPIMS films. In this paper, the reasons behind the observed increase in HiPIMS deposition rates from the TriPack magnet pack along with a modified particle flux model is discussed.