Current-voltage characteristics of magnetron with hot target

Abstract

In this paper, the discharge characteristics of the magnetron with a hot titanium target in inert and reactive environments have been experimentally studied for the first time. It is established that the current-voltage characteristics of the magnetron operating in the argon environment correspond to the abnormal glow discharge mode with a low current. When the current increases, they reach a maximum and depend on the pressure in the same way as in the case of a cold target. When the magnetron operates in the Ar+O2 environment, the current-voltage characteristics have three sections corresponding to the oxide, transition and metallic target operation modes. In the transition mode, an increase in current leads to a significant decrease in voltage (by about 80 V or by 17%). In the region of higher currents, the target operates in stationary metallic mode, and the discharge voltage decreases, when the current increases. In this case, the transition from the oxide mode starts at the current density, which is approximately four times smaller than for a magnetron with a cold target. The V-I characteristics of a magnetron with a hot target are changed in Ar + N2 environment at any nitrogen flow similarly to the V-I characteristics in the Ar+O2. However, in this case the transition from the nitride mode to the metallic mode is observed at a current density, which is about twice as less as for a magnetron with a cold target.