Titanium coating of the inner of a 1 m long narrow tube by double-ended anode coaxial magnetron-pulsed plasmas

In order to reveal the potential of a coaxial magnetron-pulsed plasma (CMPP) reactor for the deposition of thin films on the internal walls of narrow tubes, discharge characteristics and an extended-anode effect were investigated. The extended-anode effect is quite unique in CMPP, and appears due to the deposition of a conductive film onto the surface of an insulator. Three discharge regions corresponding to a plasma breakdown, a steady state and an afterglow were observed and characterized. The breakdown region was extremely dependent on the repetition frequency of the pulsed voltage. Titanium thin films were sputter-deposited onto the inner surface of a narrow glass tube (1000 mm long and 8 mm inner diameter) using double-ended anode coaxial magnetron-pulsed plasmas (DCMPP), to which CMPP was applied for the internal coating of narrow tubes with high aspect ratios of length to inner diameter. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.