Nitrogen Atom Energy Distributions in a Hollow-cathode Planar Sputtering Magnetron
Authors: Zhehui Wang, Samuel A. Cohen, D.N. Ruzic, and M.J. Goechner
Date: June 24, 1999
Energy distributions of N atoms in a hollow-cathode planar sputtering magnetron were obtained by use of optical emission spectroscopy. A characteristic line, N I 8216.3 Å, well-separated from molecular nitrogen emission bands, was identified. Jansson's nonlinear spectral deconvolution method, refined by minimization of Xw2, was used to obtain the optimal deconvolved spectra. These showed nitrogen atom energies from 1 eV to beyond 500 eV. Based on comparisons with VFTRIM results, we propose that the energetic N atoms are generated from N2+ ions after these ions are accelerated through the sheath and dissociatively reflect from the cathode.