Influence of electron diffusion on the cathode sheath of a magnetron discharge

This article describes the theory and numerical modeling of the cathode sheath region near the target of a magnetron. Since electrons are assumed to be confined by the magnetic field, a fluid model is appropriate. Collisionless and fluid models for ion motion are considered and the sheath properties are compared for each of the models considered. It is shown that, if electron diffusion in the sheath is classical, the magnetized electrons have a strong effect on the sheath, whereas for the case of Bohm diffusion this effect is negligible. (C) 1996 American Vacuum Society.