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With proper adjustments of the magnetic fields inside an existing dc magnetron sputter (MS), trajectories of those argon electrons in the vacuum chamber can be further confined and the racetrack erosion patterns on the target surface can be better controlled. Hence the target can be more effectively utilized and the system sputtering rate can also be enhanced. By implementing appropriate passive iron annulus and active compensation magnetizations onto the dc MS, based on Taguchi’s method, three typical reference target erosion patterns are selected for verification. From the promising emulation results, it can be demonstrated that these target erosion patterns can be precisely controlled to the designated profiles and more electron trajectories can be confined, hence the objectives of designing structural refinements for better the dc MS performance can be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]