Study of the efficiency of magnetic island macroparticle filters for different vacuum arc configurations

ANDRÉS ARIAS DURÁN; MARIANA FAZIO; ARIEL KLEIMAN; LEANDRO GIULIANI; ADRIANA MÁRQUEZ; DIANA GRONDONA

Mar del Plata

Workshop; 14th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics; 2011

In the present work, we studied the efficiency of a magnetic island filter for twovacuum arc designs, pulsed and continuous. The magnetic island filter consisted in a straightduct with an external solenoid and a magnet enclosed in a housing (magnetic island) locatedinside the duct on its axis, and both magnetic fields are in opposite direction. The housing ofthe magnetic island obstructs the line of sight between the cathode and the substrate. In thisarrangement, the charged plasma components move along the curved magnetic field lines,around the magnetic island, but the macroparticles move in straight paths and deposit on thewall of the magnetic island housing. The performance of the filter was characterized fordifferent external and internal field strengths. The plasma transport efficiency was analyzed bymeasuring the ion saturation current with Langmuir probes and the deposited mass rate. Theion transmission efficiency around the system axis achieved values around 25%. Observationof the coating surface morphology with optical microscopy determined that the macroparticleswere effectively removed.