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Magnetron sputtering issues concerning growth of magnetic films: a technical approach to background, solutions, and outlook

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Abstract

Magnetron sputtering is a very versatile technique extensively employed for the deposition/growth of thin films. However, the deposition of desirable magnetic films is one of the challenges confronting magnetron sputtering owing to the shunting of magnetic flux by magnetic targets in conventional magnetron sputtering equipment. This flux shunting culminates in lower plasma density, non-uniform plasma confinement, and uneven erosion of magnetic targets, adversely affecting the growing films’ thickness uniformity and chemical homogeneity—the latter can be particularly serious in magnetron co-sputtering. In this article, it is discussed that these issues can be avoided by cylindrical sputtering. As for planar sputtering, formerly offered technical solutions including the utilization of thin foils as magnetic targets, the deployment of gapped targets somewhat allowing the magnetic flux of the magnetron assembly, the employment of a target heating system increasing a magnetic target’s temperature greater than or equal to its Curie temperature, facing target sputtering, magnetron sputtering assisted by coupled plasma inductively generated in an internal coil, and the generation of plasma remotely from magnetic targets (i.e., high target utilization sputtering) are scrutinized with their advantages/disadvantages being further examined. Finally, it is discussed that not only can auxiliary grid deployment mitigate/remove the issues of planar magnetron sputtering by modifying spatial plasma density distribution near the target but also it can solely shoulder the responsibility of ionization enhancement and plasma confinement for deposition of magnetic films.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof. Alberto Tagliaferri and Mahnaz Khorshidi Tatafi profusely for their unstinting support. We are also truly grateful to Dr. Oksana Koplak for sharing some of her experiences and interesting reads concerning magnetic materials.

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  1. KosarTech Group, P.O. Box 13498‑98643, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Kosari Mehr

  2. Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milan, Italy

    Abbas Kosari Mehr

  3. CNST@PoliMi, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Giovanni Pascoli 70/3, Milan, Italy

    Abbas Kosari Mehr

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AKM: idea, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, conceptualization, literature search, data analysis, and visualization. AKM: conceptualization, literature search, critical review and editing, and validation. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Kosari Mehr, A., Kosari Mehr, A. Magnetron sputtering issues concerning growth of magnetic films: a technical approach to background, solutions, and outlook. Appl. Phys. A 129, 662 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-06945-y

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