Sputtering of the magnetron diode target in the presence of an external ion beam

The effect of an external ion beam on the plasma and target of a dc magnetron sputtering system in the course of reactive deposition of films is investigated. A combined experimental setup consisting of a magnetron diode and a hall-current ion source is constructed. The influence of a fast ion beam on the discharge current formation, the target emission characteristics, and the target etching rate is considered. It is shown that the ion assistance expands the operating range of the magnetron diode, increases the deposition rate, and substantially shortens the target training time. At the same time, it practically does not affect the ionization processes in the plasma.