Experimental determination and simulation of the angular distribution of the metal flux during magnetron sputter deposition

M Horkel (1) , K van Aeken (2) , C Eisenmenger-Sittner (1) , D Depla (1) , S Mahieu (1) , W P Leroy (1)

1 Institute of Solid State Physics
2 Department for Solid State Sciences

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 Determination and simulation of the angular distribution of the metal flux 2 parameters derived from the angular distribution are related to the degree of thermalization of the impinging particles.

Mots clés: angular distribution; sputter deposition; magnetron deposition; pinhole camera; thermalization

M Horkel, K van Aeken, C Eisenmenger-Sittner, D Depla, S Mahieu, et al.. Experimental determination and simulation of the angular distribution of the metal flux during magnetron sputter deposition. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2010, 43 (7), pp.75302. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/43/7/075302⟩. ⟨hal-00569764⟩