Effective control of ion fluxes over large areas by magnetic fields: From narrow beams to highly uniform fluxes

An effective control of the ion current distribution over large-area (up to 10(3) cm(2)) substrates with the magnetic fields of a complex structure by using two additional magnetic coils installed under the substrate exposed to vacuum arc plasmas is demonstrated. When the magnetic field generated by the additional coils is aligned with the direction of the magnetic field generated by the guiding and focusing coils of the vacuum arc source, a narrow ion density distribution with the maximum current density 117 A m(-2) is achieved. When one of the additional coils is set to generate the magnetic field of the opposite direction, an area almost uniform over the substrate of 10(3) cm(2) ion current distribution with the mean value of 45 A m(-2) is achieved. Our findings suggest that the system with the vacuum arc source and two additional magnetic coils can be effectively used for the effective, high throughput, and highly controllable plasma processing.