The Influence of the Power Supply of a Magnetron Sputtering System on the Properties of the Deposited TiO2 Films

• Published in: Inorganic materials Vol. 54; no. 15; pp. 1491 - 1497
• Main Authors: Abramov, N. F., Bezrukov, A. V., Vol’pyan, O. D., Obod, Yu. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Coatings; Current pulses; Ellipsometry; Frequency variation; Gas discharges; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Inorganic Chemistry; Magnetic properties; Magnetron sputtering; Materials Science; Optical coatings; Optical properties; Photovoltaic cells; Power supplies; Power supply; Reflectometry; Refractivity; The Study of Structure and Properties Physical Methods for Study and Control; Thin films; Titanium dioxide; nanocomposite coatings; ellipsometry; X-ray diffractometry; power supply sources; magnetron sputtering; optical coatings; atomic force microscopy; magnetron sputtering system; X-ray reflectometry
• ISSN: 0020-1685; 1608-3172
• DOI: 10.1134/S0020168518150025

Advantages of fabricating precision optical coatings by magnetron sputtering with a gas discharge powered from a medium-frequency current-variation supply unit are considered. The significance of selecting optimal characteristics and operating modes of the power supply sources of the magnetron sputtering system (MSS) for fabrication of high-quality optical coatings is justified. Using the developed magnetron sputtering facility that comprises a multimode power supply unit of the MSS, samples with thin TiO
2
films were fabricated at different recurrence frequencies
f
mag
of the current pulses transmitted to the MSS and under other identical sputtering conditions. The samples were tested by laser ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and X-ray reflectometry. The influence of  
f
mag
on the functional properties of the TiO
2
films, namely, the refractive index, density, and roughness, is shown.