The characteristics of the combined Magnetron Ion-Plasma System (MIPS) in the transition mode, which is optimal for the synthesis of nanostructured coatings on heat-sensitive materials, are presented. The system consists of a magnetron sputtering system and a Hall-type ion source with a common magnetic system and two power supply units. It was found that the presence of a positive magnetically insulated anode leads to a 2-3 times decrease in the gas pressure threshold of the magnetron discharge extinction as a result of the appearance of a transient mode. In this regime, a significant dependence of the anode potential of the ion source on the gas pressure and the magnetic field is observed.

The design and characteristics of the combined Magnetron-Ion-Plasma System (MIPS) are presented. The system includes a magnetron sputtering system and a Hall-type ion source with a common magnetic system and common power supply allowing the generation of quasi-neutral ion-electron flow, which provides complete charge neutralization on the processed dielectric surface. The formation of the anode electron layer and the energy spectra of ions are experimentally investigated. A phenomenological model of the combined discharge in EН fields is proposed. Theoretical calculations and experimental data are in reasonable agreement.

Processes in reactive plasma during the magnetron deposition of tantalum oxynitride with ICP activation of reactive gas are studied in dependence on Oxygen fraction. Results of spectroscopic study of optical emission from the plasma and of mass-spectrometry of gas composition in the vacuum chamber in response to ignition of magnetron discharge and inductively coupled plasma are presented. It is shown that dissociation level of all species grows with the magnetron current increase while its dependence on oxygen/nitrogen ratio is non-monotonic.

The discharge characteristics of a new combined low energy magnetron-ion-source sputtering system are presented. The ignition curves, current-voltage characteristics of the system in dependence on gas pressure, magnitude and topology of magnetic field have been researched both for autonomous operation of the planar magnetron discharge and Hall type ion source in plasma mode and for their combination. Spatial distributions of ion current are also presented.

В роботі проведено аналіз впливу енергетичних факторів, таких як потенціал зсуву, що подається на підкладку, густина йонного струму на підкладку і швидкість осадження, на формування структури та субструктури плівок диборида гафнію, отриманих ВЧ-магнетронним розпорошенням. Показано, що структурні зміни від квазиаморфного стану до нанокристалічного з текстурою зростання відбуваються внаслідок змін енергетичних факторів.

The paper is devoted to investigation of spatial distributions of ion current density to a sample in technological set-up with magnetron sputtering system and ICP source. The dependence of the ion flux towards the processed surface on the parameters of the deposition process was measured. The following parameters were varied: magnetron discharge power, gas type and pressure, target-sample distance, inductive discharge power, and bias potential applied to the samples. The effect of nonequilibrium heating of the sample surface due to relaxation of kinetic energy of ions, atoms and electrons, as well as energy of exothermic chemical reactions at synthesis of Ta2O5 and TaB2 films is discussed. The influence of sample shape on the ion bombardment is also investigated. PACS: 52.77.-j, 81.15.-z

The design and characteristics of a new combined magnetron-ion-beam sputtering system are presented. The system allows coating deposition both by means of magnetron discharge, and by sputtering of complex composite targets by high-energy ion beam. Computer simulation and optimization of magnetic field topology on the system, which is common for the magnetron discharge and the Hall-type ion source, have been carried out. The ignition curves, current-voltage characteristics of the system, in dependence on gas type and pressure, magnitude and topology of magnetic field have been researched both for autonomous operation of the planar magnetron discharge and ion source and for their combination. Spatial distributions of ion current are also presented.

In the present paper the results of TaB2 coating deposition in cluster set-up comprising a low pressure planar magnetron and an inductive plasma source are presented. The system allows to control independently the fluxes of the deposited Ta and B atoms from the sputtered TaB2 target, and the fluxes of argon ions and electrons from the inductive plasma. Low argon pressure in the chamber allows the deposition process in the collisionless regime, providing the composition of the deposited film which is very close to the stoichiometry of the sputtered target. The correlation of the TaB2 coating structure with the substrate voltage in the range from -50 to + 50 V is demonstrated.

The investigation results of optimal conditions for synthesis of thin-film tantalum oxide dielectric coatings using the cluster multipurpose setup are presented. The set-up consist of DC magnetron, ICP source, and medium-energy ion source. Tantalum oxide was deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering using DC magnetron in atmosphere of argon and oxygen. The oxygen flow was activated by passing trough the ICP source. The described equipment allows independent control of the flows of metal atoms, of reactive particles, and of ions of rare and reactive gas. The current-voltage characteristics of the magnetron discharge were measured as well as teir dependencies on argon pressure and oxygen flow.

In the present paper, the results studying the technological regimes of reactive magnetron sputtering in cluster set-up with two planar magnetrons, plasma source and medium energy ion source are presented. Magnetron current-voltage characteristics as well as dependencies of the magnetron current, voltage and the total pressure in the chamber on the reactive gas flow are presented with emphasis on the features of the joint work of the two magnetrons with targets of different materials using different reactive gases. The technological "window" is determined on the basis of the measured characteristics.

The characteristics of the low pressure discharge in crossed electric and magnetic fields is described in this work for the case of magnetically insulated diode and electron anode layer with free cathode boundary. The theory is compared with experimental characteristics of Hall-type ion source "Radical" such as breakdown curves, current-voltage characteristics, dependences of discharge current on magnetic field and pressure. As a result of the carried out analysis, the mechanism of the discharge evolution dependence on boundary conditions is proposed. The mechanism of discharge initiation based on combined ionization of gas by electron avalanches and high energy gamma-electrons is considered as well.

In the present study the characteristics of discharge in crossed EH fields in acceleration and plasma regimes have been researched at low voltages near the breakdown curve. The new experimental data for current-voltage characteristic and their dependence on argon pressure and magnetic fields strength are presented. It is shown that initial stage of the current-voltage characteristic in acceleration and plasma regime are quite similar and correspond to regime with "oscillating" electrons. The theoretic model based on the energy balance of electrons in plasma regime is presented as well as the comparison of the theory with the experiment. The obtained results may be useful for further development of magnetron sputtering systems and plasma accelerators with closed electrons drift.

ZnWO4 films were deposited on glass and KCI substrates using ion beam sputtering of ZnWO4 target. After annealing in O-2 flow at 773 K during 7 hours, films gain the crystalline structure and luminescent properties which are inherent for ZnWO4 compound.

Long-term (700 hours) corrosion tests of hastelloy-type alloy samples were performed in the ZrF4+NaF melt at a temperature of 650 degrees C with the use of the electron linac LUE-10 of power of about 5 kW. To reduce the residual radioactivity of irradiated materials, studies were made into possible ways of a smooth energy shift at the maximum of the electron spectrum to the lower energy region under conditions of a strong current load.

The software for ICP device simulation is worked out. Discharge chamber geometry, RF power, pressure and working gas type are the input data. The results of calculation are inductor voltage, ion current density distribution on the chamber surface, steady state space distributions of the electric field, plasma density and electron temperature in the chamber. Set of 2D parameter distributions is visualized immediately after calculation. The software had been carefully verified by comparing the calculation results with real data measured experimentally. The comparison has shown that both calculated 2D plasma density and electron temperature profiles and ion current density distribution on the processed surface are quite realistic. Graphical geometry input, fast calculation and immediate result visualization makes it possible to use our software for interactive development of ICP technological tools.

The results of systematic experimental researches of plasma-chemical etching reactor in the inductive mode are presented in this paper. Measurements of the integral discharge parameters (inductor voltage, gas pressure, input power) have been carried out as well as probe measurements of spatial distribution of local plasma parameters (plasma density, temperature and electron energy distribution function) and radial profiles of ion current to processed surface. The measured dependences differ essentially for atomic (Ar) and molecular (O-2,N-2,CF4) gases. As the range of working pressure covers diffusive and collisionless modes of charged particles movement, radial distribution of ion current density and its absolute value change significantly. Comparison of the obtained results with the calculations executed using "Global" spatially averaged model and 2D-fluid model is carried out.

A new device, Electron Irradiation Test Facility (EITF), has been created at electron linear accelerator Linac-10 at Accelerator R&D Complex affiliated with NSC KIPT. This facility allows to carry on studies on corrosion resistance of differently shaped samples of the Hastelloy type alloys in the melt of zirconium and sodium fluoride salts at high temperature. A container assembly (CA) that held samples was irradiated for 700 hours in the radiation field of electron beam with the energy similar to 10 MeV and average current similar to 500 microAmps (power similar to 5 kW). The CA consisting of 16 containers (made of a carbon-carbon composite) that were loaded with research samples of Hastelloy alloys in the melt of the salts ZrF4. NaF was placed in air-tight protective shell made of stainless steel. During the irradiation, the CA was placed in argon atmosphere. The CA temperature was monitored with three thermocouples. Over the entire length of the irradiation process the stationary temperature regime was provided: 650 degrees C +/- 15 degrees C.

The spatial distribution of the ion flux at the substrate or work surface in inductively coupled plasma source is studied experimentally and theoretically. The theoretical study is based on a two-dimensional fluid model and the well-known global model. The spatial profiles of the electron density and temperature, as well as the ion flux density, are obtained. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental data obtained using a plate probe. It is found that at high pressures the temperature dependence of the electron-neutral collision rate can be important. For argon, maximum uniformity of the ion flux at the work surface occurs for p∼20 mTorr, with the induction coils located on the cylindrical sidewall of the discharge chamber.

Results are presented of an investigation of the deposition processes of TiN coatings by stationary magnetron discharge, with the addition of high-voltage pulses (0–2kV) applied to the plasma source electrodes or to the substrate. Two different configurations of deposition system were investigated: (1) a hybrid plasma source, which is the combination of a direct-current (DC) magnetron with a Marshall gun; and (2) radio-frequency (RF)-sustained DC magnetron with a pulse biased processed sample. The results of studies on both the discharge characteristics and the properties of the deposited TiN coatings are presented. The influence of pulsed ion bombardment on the chemical composition of the deposited coatings is shown.