Shunting arc-produced hybrid plasma and its magnetic drive for PBII&D

Hybrid plasmas produced by shunting arc discharge are described in this article. The shunting arc was generated in various ambient atmospheres. When a carbon-shunting arc was generated in a nitrogen atmosphere, the carbon ion species were produced at the arc stage, the electrons of which accelerated toward the wall, colliding with the gas species in the chamber to produce nitrogen ions. When the arc was generated in a methane atmosphere, the hydrogen content in the deposited carbon film changed with the gas pressure. When the arc was generated in gaseous RF plasma, an enhancement in the plasma density was confirmed with ion current measurement. Another method of the shunting arc application is the usage of the Lorentz force, which accelerates the entire plasma body toward the target. This results in a fast deposition of the plasma species such as carbon.