Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) during rf-magnetron sputtering of YBaCuO

Optical emission spectroscopy of the plasmas generated during rf-magnetron sputtering of a stoichiometric YBaCuO target was performed and spectra were recorded. Most of the lines associated with the cation elements were resolved. Switching from an Ar/O2 sputter atmosphere to pure Ar enhanced the cation intensities significantly. Furthermore, changes in the Ba and Cu line intensities during sputtering were found to correlate with film properties. For the future, we hope to use OES as an in situ rate control during sputtering of YBaCuO in a 3 target co-sputter process. (orig.)