Published June 2, 2008 | Version v1
Journal article

Gasless sputtering: Opportunities for ultraclean metallization, coatings in space, and propulsion

  • 1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

Description

Pulsed magnetron sputtering was demonstrated in high vacuum: no sputter gas was used at any time. Sustained self-sputtering was initiated by multiply charged ions from a short vacuum arc. Copper ion currents to an ion collector in excess of 30 A were measured, implying a plasma density of about 6x1018 m-3. This technology may prove useful for metal coatings free of noble gas inclusions and suggests that magnetrons could operate in the vacuum of space. In addition to coating objects in space, the momentum of the sputtered atoms and ions may be utilized in space thrusters

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Applied Physics Letters
Journal Volume
92
Journal Issue
22
Journal Page Range
p. 221503-221503.3
ISSN
0003-6951
CODEN
APPLAB

INIS

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2008 American Institute of Physics