High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) plasmas produce a very energetic growth flux for the synthesis of thin films with superior properties. High power densities in the range of a few kW/cm2\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\hbox {kW}/\hbox {cm}^2$$\end{document} are applied to a metal target electrode in short pulses with a length of 10–400μs\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$400\,\upmu \hbox {s}$$\end{document} and duty cycles of a few percent or less in an argon plasma gas. Fast camera and probe measurements revealed the formation of very characteristic plasma patterns that become visible as rotating localized ionization zones, so called spokes. The appearance of these spokes at high plasma powers is believed to be essential for the good performance of HiPIMS plasmas. The rotation direction of the spokes is in E→×B→\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\vec {E} \times \vec {B}$$\end{document} direction at high plasma powers, but in retrograde E→×B→\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\vec {E} \times \vec {B}$$\end{document} direction at low plasma powers. This characteristic behavior is explained by applying a simple drift wave model from literature and comparing the dispersion relation of those waves with measured data. The pronounced rotation reversal is explained by either a change in the governing density gradient in the plasma or by the change in the direction of the streaming ions during the transition from an argon dominated regime at low powers to a metal dominated regime at high powers.

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高功率脉冲磁控溅射 (HiPIMS) 等离子体中的图案形成

高功率脉冲磁控溅射 (HiPIMS) 等离子体产生非常高能量的生长通量，用于合成具有优异性能的薄膜。几千瓦/平方厘米范围内的高功率密度\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\hbox {kW}/\hbox {cm}^2$$\end{document} 应用于金属靶电极长度为 10–400μs 的短脉冲\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{ upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$400\, \upmu \hbox {s}$$\end{document} 和氩等离子气体中百分之几或更少的占空比。快速相机和探针测量揭示了非常有特征的等离子体图案的形成，这些图案随着旋转的局部电离区（所谓的辐条）变得可见。这些辐条在高等离子体功率下的出现被认为对于 HiPIMS 等离子体的良好性能至关重要。辐条的旋转方向为 E→×B→\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs } \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\vec {E} \times \vec {B}$$\end{document} 高等离子体功率方向，但在逆行 E→×B→\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek } \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\vec {E} \times \vec {B}$$\end{document} 低等离子体功率方向。通过应用文献中的简单漂移波模型并将这些波的色散关系与测量数据进行比较，可以解释这种特征行为。显着的旋转逆转可以通过等离子体中控制密度梯度的变化或通过在从低功率的氩主导状态到高功率的金属主导状态过渡期间流动离子方向的变化来解释。