Advanced coatings through pulsed magnetron sputtering

Kelly, PJ; Hisek, J; Zhou, Y; Pilkington, RD; Arnell, RD

Abstract

Pulsed magnetron sputtering (PMS) has become
established as the process of choice for the deposition
of dielectric materials for many applications. The
process is attractive because it offers stable arc free
operating conditions during the deposition of, for
example, functional films on architectural and automotive
glass, or antireflective/antistatic coatings on
displays. Recent studies have shown that pulsing the
magnetron discharge also leads to hotter and more
energetic plasmas in comparison with continuous dc
discharges, with increased ion energy fluxes delivered to
the substrate. As such, the PMS process offers benefits
in the deposition of a wide range of materials. The
present paper describes three examples where PMS has
led to either significant enhancement in film properties
or enhanced process flexibility: in low friction titanium
nitride coatings, in Al doped zinc oxide transparent
conductive oxide coatings sputtered directly from
powder targets and in thin film photovoltaic devices
based on copper (indium/gallium) diselenide. These
examples demonstrate the versatility of PMS and open
up new opportunities for the production of advanced
coatings using this technique.

Citation

Kelly, P., Hisek, J., Zhou, Y., Pilkington, R., & Arnell, R. (2004). Advanced coatings through pulsed magnetron sputtering. Surface Engineering, 20(3), 157-162. https://doi.org/10.1179/026708404225010702

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2004
• Deposit Date: Oct 19, 2007
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 19, 2007
• Journal: Surface Engineering
• Print ISSN: 0267-0844
• Publisher: Maney Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 157-162
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/026708404225010702
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/026708404225010702
• Related Public URLs: http://www.maney.co.uk/; http://www.maney.co.uk/search?fwaction=show&fwid=218