3. Arc management in a HiPIMS process

Arc formation on sputtering targets and negatively polarized substrates is a difficult problem to solve in magnetron sputtering applications . This is particularly true when reactive gases, large target areas or HiPIMS discharges are envisaged. This phase associated with abrupt target current growth is generally undesirable, especially for applications requiring high control and quality of film properties due to the production of micro-droplets (macro-particles) sputtered from the target, which contribute to their degradation. However, cathodic arc deposition is widely used on an industrial scale for specific applications