Process control of reactive magnetron sputtering of thin films of zirconium dioxides

Thin films of zirconium dioxides were deposited on room temperature glass substrates using emission from the dc magnetron sputtering plasma glow discharge as a process control for the reactive process inside the deposition chamber in low pumping speed vacuum system. An unbalanced magnetron source was used in an enclosed volume, within a vacuum chamber,into which oxygen gas was admitted. A systematic control of the reactive gas partial pressure allows injection of reactive gas into the deposition chamber, provided with a fast response time by observation of the spectral line emission of the sputtered zirconium target. This feedback look control allowed the production localized-optimized films of Zirconium dioxides. The optical quality and optimization process were assessed by ellipsometry and spectrophotometry.