Composition and energy of the flux of positive and negative ions during reactive magnetron sputter deposition of Ti-C:H films

In the present paper the investigation of the energy and composition of the positive and negative ion flux towards a substrate during reactive magnetron sputter-deposition of Ti-C:H films is reported. The energy distributions and mass spectra of the positive and negative ions were measured for various compositions and total pressures of the working gas mixture. Ti-C:H films were deposited at various methane flows. Based on the films properties and ion mass spectrometry measurement, three regimes of reactive magnetron sputtering discharge in a mixture of argon and methane were identified.