Numerical modeling and computer simulation for the design of a Filtered Cathodic Arc System

• Main Author: Ye, Qian.
• Other Authors: Shi, Xu
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Computer hardware, software and systems
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/19595
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) deposition technique has received extensive attention recently due to its unique features: the arc is generated at one end of a toroidal solenoid filter, in which those ions and electrons in the arc follow the force line of the magnetic field and pass through, while those neutral particles moving in straight lines are filtered away, and a "purified" plasma is obtained at the other end. Thin films, such as Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon (ta-C) films prepared by this method exhibit superior properties. An improved drift approximation model with an added radial electrostatic field has been successfully coded and implemented on computer in this thesis. The model provides an efficient way to quantitatively describe the plasma motion and predict the plasma behaviour in the toroidal solenoid of the Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) system. This thesis gives an introduction of the FCVA technique and modified drift collision model.