Title :
Characteristics of the cathodic arc discharge with a hot boron cathode
Author :
Richter, Frank ; Peter, Siegfried ; Filippov, Volodymyr B. ; Flemming, Gert ; Kühn, Michael
Author_Institution :
Inst. fur Phys., Tech. Univ. Chemnitz, Germany
fDate :
8/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Recently, we have developed a cathodic arc plasma source with a heated boron cathode and successfully applied to the deposition of cubic boron nitride thin films. The cathode surface area under operation exhibits an extended red-hot area and it was therefore tentatively assumed that the arc operates in the distributed mode. However, high-speed photography has revealed that cathode spots exist which move randomly similar to cathode spots on metal. The discharge mode of the hot boron cathode has been characterized both in Ar and N2/Ar atmosphere. The properties of the ion component of the emitted plasma were investigated by energy-resolved mass spectroscopy. Conclusions are drawn on the potential of boron arc evaporation as a viable deposition process for c-BN films
Keywords :
arcs (electric); boron; cathodes; evaporation; mass spectroscopy; photographic applications; plasma CVD; plasma diagnostics; thin films; Ar; Ar atmosphere; B; BN; N2-Ar; N2-Ar atmosphere; boron arc evaporation; c-BN films; cathode spot random motion; cathode surface area; cathodic arc discharge; cathodic arc plasma source; cubic boron nitride thin films; deposition process; discharge mode; distributed mode; emitted plasma; energy-resolved mass spectroscopy; extended red-hot area; high-speed photography; hot boron cathode; ion component; plasma diagnostics; plasma measurement; Arc discharges; Argon; Atmosphere; Boron; Cathodes; Photography; Plasma properties; Plasma sources; Sputtering; Surface discharges;
Journal_Title :
Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on
