Study of the sheath potential structure using emissive probe in a dc magnetron plasma

The sheath potential structure variation is very important to understand the discharge characteristics. Plasma sheath is making significant influence on the charged particles and the energy flux to the wall, which in turn greatly modifies the absorption, emission of impurities, other discharge characteristics of the plasma and also the sputtering and deposition. In this study, we have examined the potential structure in a direct current magnetron plasma sputtering discharge used for thin film deposition. An emissive probe is used for this study at different plasma discharge conditions by varying the discharge voltage, the gas pressure and the externally applied magnetic field strength. Results from this study show that the sheath formed near the cathode is greatly influenced by the above plasma parameters which are responsible for the quality of the deposited film.