A Monte Carlo simulation of the metal flux from a small scale rotating cylindrical magnetron is presented. The model describes the sputtered particles trajectories through the gas in a user definable 3D set-up. The ejection positions of the sputtered particles are generated according to the simulated ion current density on the target. The thermal motion of the background gas is included, with collisions modelled based on either quantum chemical or screened Coulomb interaction potentials. Experimental characterization of the metal flux was performed for Cu, Al and Ti targets at a range of argon pressures (0.3–1 Pa) by measuring deposition rate distributions. A comparison with preliminary simulations showed the importance of a correct description of the nascent angular distribution of the sputtered particles. Therefore, this distribution was not considered as given by sputter simulation or analytical formula, but was instead reconstructed from the low pressure experimental deposition profiles. The typical heart-like shaped emission observed at low energy sputtering was found and a comparison was made with results from binary collision approximation modelling. The spatial, pressure and material dependence of the metal flux in the chamber was then simulated and found to be in good agreement with the experiment.

In this paper, some modelling approaches to describe direct current (dc) magnetron discharges developed in our research groups will be presented, including an analytical model, Monte Carlo simulations for the electrons and for the sputtered atoms, a hybrid Monte Carlo-fluid model and particle-in-cell-Monte Carlo collision simulations. The strengths and limitations of the various modelling approaches will be explained, and some characteristic simulation results will be illustrated. Furthermore, some other simulation methods related to the magnetron device will be briefly explained, more specifically for calculating the magnetic field distribution inside the discharge, and for describing the (reactive) sputtering.

The influence of the composition on the crystallographic properties of deposited Mg(M)O (with M=Al, Cr, Ti, Y, and Zr) films is studied. For a flexible control of the composition, dual reactive magnetron sputtering was used as deposition technique. Two different approaches to predict the composition are discussed. The first is an experimental way based on the simple relationship between the deposition rate and the target-substrate distance. The second is a route using a Monte Carlo based particle trajectory code. Both methods require a minimal experimental input and enable the user to quickly predict the composition of complex thin films. Good control and flexibility allow us to study the compositional effects on the growth of Mg(M)O films. Pure MgO thin films were grown with a (111) preferential out-of-plane orientation. When adding M to MgO, two trends were noticed. The first trend is a change in the MgO lattice parameters compared to pure MgO. The second tendency is a decrease in the crystallinity of the MgO phase. The experimentally determined crystallographic properties are shown to be in correspondence with the predicted properties from molecular dynamics simulations

Articles you may be interested inInvestigation of ionized metal flux in enhanced high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharges J. Appl. Phys. 115, 153301 (2014); 10.1063/1.4871635 Current-voltage-time characteristics of the reactive Ar/O2 high power impulse magnetron sputtering dischargeThe negative ion flux during reactive sputtering from planar and rotating cylindrical magnetrons has been studied. Energy resolved mass spectrometry was used to measure the energy and mass distribution of the negative ions. Also the angular distribution of the high energy ions was characterized for planar as well as for rotating cylindrical magnetrons. Besides these measurements, a binary collision Monte Carlo simulation code, SiMTRA, was adapted in order to simulate the energy, mass, and angular distribution of the high energy negative ions. All simulated distributions, for both planar and rotating cylindrical magnetrons, were in excellent correspondence with the experimental observations. Also a model for the amount of high energy negative O − ions was proposed. Indeed, the logarithm of the amount of high energy negative O − ions is shown to be related to the secondary electron emission yield of the oxide target, and these two parameters are known to be related to the work function. The SiMTRA simulations, in combination with knowledge of the work function or secondary electron emission yield of the target, allow modeling the flux of high energy negative ions during reactive magnetron sputtering.

A Ti target was mounted on a planar magnetron and sputtered in a mixture of Ar and N 2 , resulting in a flux of metallic Ti particles forming a TiN film on a substrate. The sticking coefficient of Ti was determined by comparing the Ti flux towards the substrate with the actual amount of deposited Ti particles, as determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. It was observed that the sticking coefficient of Ti increases significantly with increasing target-substrate distance, but is to a lesser extent influenced by the N 2 partial pressure.

The ion and momentum fluxes toward the growing film during reactive magnetron sputtering of a Ti target in a mixture of Ar and N-2 are determined. For the ion flux and ion energy distribution a retarding field energy analyzer has been employed. The results were confronted with planar and cylindrical probe measurements, two more common used techniques. For the momentum flux, energy resolved mass spectrometry and simulations with the binary collision Monte Carlo code SIMTRA were performed to determine the contribution to this flux by the impact of ions and sputtered and reflected particles. Based on the quantification of both fluxes, it can be concluded that there is a relation between the hardness and elastic modulus of the TiN films and the momentum flux. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics

A rotating cylindrical magnetron consists of a cylindrical tube, functioning as the cathode, which rotates around a stationary magnet assembly. In stationary mode, the cylindrical magnetron behaves similar to a planar magnetron with respect to the influence of reactive gas addition to the plasma. However, the transition from metallic mode to poisoned mode and vice versa depends on the rotation speed. An existing model has been modified to simulate the influence of target rotation on the well known hysteresis behavior during reactive magnetron sputtering. The model shows that the existing poisoning mechanisms, i.e., chemisorption, direct reactive ion implantation and knock on implantation, are insufficient to describe the poisoning behavior of the rotating target. A better description of the process is only possible by including the deposition of sputtered material on the target.

To understand the film growth during magnetron sputter deposition a detailed knowledge of the flux of sputtered species from the target towards the substrate is vital. One important parameter is the angular distribution of the impinging neutral target atoms on the substrate, since it is responsible for e.g. self shadowing effects. The determination of the angular distribution of the metal flux at an arbitrary point in the deposition chamber is achieved by a pinhole-camera, where the information of the angular distribution is converted into a thickness profile. This paper describes the construction of such a pinhole-camera which is capable of differential pumping, the determination of the angular distribution for a wide variety of target materials, and which can easily be inserted into a deposition chamber. The angular distributions of different materials (Cu; W; Al; Ti; Mg) at different parameters (pressure, lateral position, and vertical position) are experimentally determined and compared to simulations obtained from a newly developed Monte Carlo code. It was also investigated, if Confidential: not for distribution.