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Formation of pure anatase TiO2 by reactive pulsed dc magnetron sputtering: method for controlling target poisoning state
  • Nikolai Desch,
  • Markus Lake
Nikolai Desch
Hochschule Niederrhein - Campus Krefeld Sud

Corresponding Author:nikolai.desch@hs-niederrhein.de

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Markus Lake
Hochschule Niederrhein - Campus Krefeld Sud
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Abstract

The use of pulsed dc-sputtering sources for reactive magnetron sputtering with oxygen offers a possibility to suppress the negative effects of target poisoning (such as arcing). This results in a wide process range for the selection of a desired operating point. The control of target poisoning plays a major role in maintaining constant coating properties and affects the stoichiometry of the reactive coating, as well as the coating rate and the economic impact of the coating process. In a hysteresis, the target poisoning during the reactive sputtering of titanium under oxygen addition proceeds nonlinearly. Without the use of a suitable target poisoning control technique, the sputtering process can abruptly change to an unstable state. As a result, variations of stoichiometry can occur during the deposition process. A proven method for maintaining a stable reactive sputtering process is the control of oxygen flow with the input variable target voltage. By determining the typical oxygen hysteresis at constant target power and constant argon flow, an operating point for the control loop is derived. The desired target voltage then serves as the input variable for the control loop of the target poisoning. The controlling technique for target poisoning is a basic requirement for the production of the photolytic active anatase phase of titanium dioxide (TiO2) using reactive magnetron sputtering. The photocatalytic equipment of surfaces with a titanium dioxide coating in the anatase phase can be realized with the reactive pulsed dc magnetron sputter ion plating process (DC-MSIP). The pulsed DC-MSIP process facilitates coating a variety of surfaces at temperatures below 200 °C in an environmentally friendly manner.
16 Jan 2023Submitted to Applied Research
18 Jan 2023Submission Checks Completed
18 Jan 2023Assigned to Editor
18 Jan 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
11 Mar 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
12 Mar 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Major
22 Mar 20231st Revision Received
22 Mar 2023Submission Checks Completed
22 Mar 2023Assigned to Editor
22 Mar 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
26 Mar 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
26 Mar 2023Editorial Decision: Accept