Process diagnostics in magnetron sputtering of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE)

We characterise the kinetics of RF magnetron sputtering of PTFE by mass spectrometry and correlate the results with film properties. The process performance is strongly affected by the conditioning of the chamber walls causing a drift in the discharge potential conditions. Various C_XF_Y⁺ fragments and compounds up to X=4 could be detected in the discharge with the origin of these species detected from structures in the energy distribution. The most important species for the film deposition seem to be the low molecular fragments (CF, CF₂). Direct information about processes occurring at the sputter target could be obtained from the negative F ^- energy distribution