The effect of the magnetron will be significantly diminished if the target material is magnetic because the magnetic field lines are shielded by the target material and find it difficult to pass through it to form a magnetic field above the target material's surface.As a result, when sputtering magnetic materials, the magnetron target's magnetic field must be stronger on the one hand, and the target material must be made thinner on the other, to allow the magnetic field lines to pass through it and produce a magnetron effect above the target surface.
According to the power source being used, magnetron sputtering equipment can generally be separated into DC sputtering and radio frequency sputtering.A DC voltage is provided between the anode substrate and the cathode target during DC magnetron sputtering. Under the influence of the electric field, the cation bombards the target, and its sputtering rate is often quite high.However, DC sputtering is often only utilized for metal targets because with insulator targets, the so-called "target poisoning" is brought on by the positive particles building up on the target surface, which results in a decreasing sputtering rate.The magnetron sputtering principle is as follows: as electrons accelerate and fly to the substrate under the influence of an electric field, they collide with argon atoms, ionizing vast numbers of argon atoms and electrons as they do so.Under the influence of the electric field, the argon ions quicken the bombardment of the target, sputtering many target atoms. The neutral target atoms (or molecules) are then deposited on the substrate to form a film.As they accelerate and fly to the substrate, the secondary electrons are constrained in the plasma region near the target surface by the Loren magnetic force of the magnetic field.
This area has a very high plasma density. The magnetic field is all around the secondary electrons. The surface of the target rotates in a circle. The path of the electron's motion is very long. It continuously collides with argon atoms as it moves, which causes a high number of argon ions to be ionized and bombard the target material. The energy of the electrons steadily drops after several encounters, releasing them from the magnetic lines of force's restrictions. eventually deposited on the substrate after being removed from the target.
