Abstract:
Research on the characterisation and understanding of pulsed magnetron discharges used for the deposition of thin, especially dielectric, films has been carried out between 2003 and 2008 at Chemnitz University of Technology. This thesis is a collection and summary of the original research during this period. In the main part of the thesis, work published in peer-reviewed scientific papers is summarised and yet unpublished results are given in more detail. Different aspects highlighted in the publications are described in a general context of the characterisation of the pulsed discharges for the principal understanding. The cross-linking of the published results is addressed and where necessary extensions to the publications are given. The main part is organised in three sections. In the first one, basics of pulsed magnetron discharges, their application, and important questions are summarised. The second section describes general results and physics of the discharges that have been obtained during the research work. It also emphasises the successful development or modifications of experimental techniques for the time-resolved characterisation. The third section addresses the possibilities to modify and control the process by external parameters that are typically accessible during the application or required by it. An appendix to the thesis comprises selected published research work which is made available as reprints of the original publications. Other publications which are not included as reprints are referenced to in the main part.