News

Shailesh is presenting a talk on Thursday 30th June at 11:20am at this year's International Conference on Fundamentals and Industrial Applications of HIPIMS being held in Sheffield on 27-30 June 2016.

"Measurement of deposition rate, ionized flux fraction and ion energy distribution in a pulsed dc magnetron sputtering system using a retarding field analyzer with embedded quartz crystal microbalance. "

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Matching Network Efficiency

Your company has paid a large sum of money for a piece of complex RF process equipment and your RF power supply is rated to 1% accuracy. That will give you great confidence that the process will be reliable and repeatable. 

However, if 10 – 50% of that accurate power is lost in the matching network does that change things?   Would you like to know how efficient your matching unit is? 

So, even if 50% of the power is lost in the matching unit; you can probably learn to live with that as long as it is the same every time, Right!  But, what if the match efficiency is not constant and changes every time you change the process gas flow, the gas type or the chamber pressure, that would not be so good, would it?

Step 1 - Connect an inline power meter, the Octiv Mono ( mono 1) to the output of a 50Ω load. We are going to measure the range with power applied so make sure the load can handle the power. The power meter is optional but it will be useful if you want to measure the Efficiency of the Network.

The match unit or matching network is a key component in getting power from an RF power supply to a plasma. The output of the power supply has a typical impedance of 50 Ohm. To match this to a plasma or other dynamic load we need a matching network. The matching network plays two key roles i) it presents a reactive impedance equal and opposite to the load so that the reactive components cancel and ii) it matches the real resistance of the load to the 50 Ohms of the RF power supply.

We recently got a returned Octiv sensor with the connector melted and this reminded me of hotspots and flashpoints.

In the world of RF engineering transmissions lines are matched and current and voltage are uniform along the cable. In the plasma world transmission lines are used to carry power to the plasma. A matching network is used to match the power supply to the plasma but the connection, effectively a transmission line from the matching network to the plasma electrode is not matched. I am not an RF engineer but even a physicist knows that there is a reflected wave at the end of the unmatched transmission line.

Drop by booth #737 to meet Impedans at the AVS 62nd International Symposium and Exhibition at the San Jose Convention Center this October. We would be delighted to speak with you about your plasma measurement needs.

October 18 - 23, 2015
San Jose Convention Center
San Jose, CA
Booth #737

This application note looks at a Langmuir Probe used in an etching environment to investigate the phase-shift effect in capacitively coupled plasma discharges by measuring the electron density and electron energy distribution function. Click here to download and read.

In this paper, the authors demonstrate a simple radio-frequency (RF) power-coupling scheme for a micro atmospheric pressure plasma jet (μAPPJ) based on a series LC resonance, with the discharge gap being part of the resonant element. The Impedans Octiv was used in the experiment. Click here to download and read.

Today's application note introduces a hybrid-dual-HiPIMS system based on the simultaneous combination of dual-HiPIMS and MF discharges. The main body of the study is the time-resolved diagnostics taken using a Semion System during the deposition of Ti–Cu films, revealing the degree of assistance made by the MF discharge. Click here to download and read.

This study used a Langmuir Single Probe to determine the temporal evolution of the oxygen negative ion and electron densities during the offtime of a reactive HiPIMS discharge operating in argon–oxygen gas mixtures. The aim of the study was to add to the knowledge base information about oxygen negative ion dynamics that will help many plasma processing methods. Click here to download and read.

High-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) systems have been previously studied with mid-frequency (MF) plasma excitation, utilizing the “off” period to enhance the deposition rate, decrease the working pressure, and improve HiPIMS plasma generation. Our latest application note looks at the time-resolved ion velocity distribution function (IVDF) in a high-power pulse plasma in three modes of excitation: pure HiPIMS, medium-frequency pulsed bipolar (MF 350 kHz) and hybrid pulsed HiPIMS + MF. Click here to download and read.

Click the video below to see Impedans unique and easy method for switching between single and double Langmuir Probe tips

Click here to explore more about our Langmuir Probe.

Some manufacturing considerations for parameter estimation in pulsed plasma discharges

Stephen Daniels | Dublin City University

Click here to see more from the Pulsed Plasma Diagnostic Workshop.

Click to read the new Theory of Operation for our Semion System. This highly versatile instrument measures ion energy, ion flux, negative ions, temperature and bias voltage at any location inside a plasma reactor, even at the substrate position. The multi-sensor version can also be used to look at uniformity issues that are very common in plasma processes. This gives valuable and unique data to many industries including etching, deposition, ion beam and space plasma.

Investigation of HiPIMS Discharges

Ralph Bandorf | Fraunhofer IST

Click here to see more from the Pulsed Plasma Diagnostic Workshop.

Elementary surface processes during plasma pre-treatment of polymers and during target poisoning in reactive magnetron sputtering

Carles Corbella | RWTH Aachen University

Click here to see more from the Pulsed Plasma Diagnostic Workshop.

Click to read our new Langmuir Probe Theory of Operation that outlines the unique features and functions of our system for characterising bulk plasma parameters. You can also download a PDF for offline viewing and reference.

Plasma diagnostic challenges in the High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) environment

Arutiun P Ehiasarian | Sheffield Hallam University

Click here to see more from the Pulsed Plasma Diagnostic Workshop.

Time-resolved diagnostic of assisted HIgh Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges in wide pressure-ranges

Vitezslav Stranak | University of Greifswald

Click here to see more from the Pulsed Plasma Diagnostic Workshop.

Our latest instrument catalogue is now available for download and offline viewing. Click here to get your copy.