Testing of baffled probes for plasma potential measurements

A relatively new way to operate industrial sputtering magnetrons is to pulse them with high power, in what is called the HiPIMS mode. This opens new plasma parameter regimes, still only partly explored. Two essential parameters to measure are the electric potential and the electric field.

Unfortunately, strong gradients in electron temperature in the HiPIMS mode introduces grave uncertainties when standard technique to measure these quentities are used. The present projct is to investigate a promising new technique, baffled probes. The experimental work is to be carried out at the University of Linköping, and the analysis at KTH. The project is offered to start by the summer of 2009.