Plasma-assisted deposition using an unbalanced magnetron

It is well known that ion bombardment of growing films can strongly influence their microstructure and consequently their physical properties. The available technology for ion assisted deposition, particularly where separate sources are used for the deposition flux and the ion flux, is difficult to implement in many production situations. The planar magnetron provides a controllable ion flux while retaining the many other desirable features of simplicity, high deposition rate, geometric versatility and tolerance of reactive gases. This assists in the implementation of ion beam assisted deposition in both research and production. [Continues.]