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Sputter Rate Distribution and Compositional Variations in Films Sputtered from Elemental and Multi-Element Targets at Different Pressures

Received: 12 February 2014     Published: 28 February 2014
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Abstract

We report on the quantitative dependence of the deposition rate during magnetron sputtering as a function of the atomic mass, processing pressure and substrate location relative to the target. Targets made of four different materials (C, Al, Ti and Ta), ranging from very light to rather heavy atomic masses, were investigated theoretically initially to determine the deposition rate distribution of the sputtered atoms. In the second part, targets made of different combinations of these materials (Ta/C, Ta/Al, Ta/Ti and Ti/Al) were sputtered to investigate the compositional variations of deposited films. The different targets were sputtered at both low (0.27 Pa) and high (2.7 Pa) pressures, and both the deposition rates and compositions were determined at four different locations in the chamber. Further, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the sputtered atoms in a simplified model of the vacuum chamber. Simulation and experiments are in adequate agreement and show a significant influence of the processing pressure on the deposition rate in various locations of the chamber. This effect is different for different target compositions and may sometimes result in very large compositional variations in films sputtered from segmented multi-element or alloy targets. Transport phenomena of the sputtered particles are also discussed based on a ballistic or diffusion-like process, depending on the sputtering pressure, mass and size of the sputtered atom as well as location in the deposition chamber. Since the materials studied range from light to heavy and the processing pressures cover the values where sputtering normally takes place, the results in this work can be extrapolated to predict the deposition profiles and compositional gradients for arbitrary material combinations and processing pressures.

Published in International Journal of Materials Science and Applications (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14
Page(s) 29-36
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Magnetron Sputtering, Deposition Rate Distribution, Monte Carlo Simulations, Gas Scattering

References
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    Erik Särhammar, Erik Strandberg, Nicolas Martin, Tomas Nyberg. (2014). Sputter Rate Distribution and Compositional Variations in Films Sputtered from Elemental and Multi-Element Targets at Different Pressures. International Journal of Materials Science and Applications, 3(2), 29-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14

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    ACS Style

    Erik Särhammar; Erik Strandberg; Nicolas Martin; Tomas Nyberg. Sputter Rate Distribution and Compositional Variations in Films Sputtered from Elemental and Multi-Element Targets at Different Pressures. Int. J. Mater. Sci. Appl. 2014, 3(2), 29-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14

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    AMA Style

    Erik Särhammar, Erik Strandberg, Nicolas Martin, Tomas Nyberg. Sputter Rate Distribution and Compositional Variations in Films Sputtered from Elemental and Multi-Element Targets at Different Pressures. Int J Mater Sci Appl. 2014;3(2):29-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14,
      author = {Erik Särhammar and Erik Strandberg and Nicolas Martin and Tomas Nyberg},
      title = {Sputter Rate Distribution and Compositional Variations in Films Sputtered from Elemental and Multi-Element Targets at Different Pressures},
      journal = {International Journal of Materials Science and Applications},
      volume = {3},
      number = {2},
      pages = {29-36},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmsa.20140302.14},
      abstract = {We report on the quantitative dependence of the deposition rate during magnetron sputtering as a function of the atomic mass, processing pressure and substrate location relative to the target. Targets made of four different materials (C, Al, Ti and Ta), ranging from very light to rather heavy atomic masses, were investigated theoretically initially to determine the deposition rate distribution of the sputtered atoms. In the second part, targets made of different combinations of these materials (Ta/C, Ta/Al, Ta/Ti and Ti/Al) were sputtered to investigate the compositional variations of deposited films. The different targets were sputtered at both low (0.27 Pa) and high (2.7 Pa) pressures, and both the deposition rates and compositions were determined at four different locations in the chamber. Further, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the sputtered atoms in a simplified model of the vacuum chamber. Simulation and experiments are in adequate agreement and show a significant influence of the processing pressure on the deposition rate in various locations of the chamber. This effect is different for different target compositions and may sometimes result in very large compositional variations in films sputtered from segmented multi-element or alloy targets. Transport phenomena of the sputtered particles are also discussed based on a ballistic or diffusion-like process, depending on the sputtering pressure, mass and size of the sputtered atom as well as location in the deposition chamber. Since the materials studied range from light to heavy and the processing pressures cover the values where sputtering normally takes place, the results in this work can be extrapolated to predict the deposition profiles and compositional gradients for arbitrary material combinations and processing pressures.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Sputter Rate Distribution and Compositional Variations in Films Sputtered from Elemental and Multi-Element Targets at Different Pressures
    AU  - Erik Särhammar
    AU  - Erik Strandberg
    AU  - Nicolas Martin
    AU  - Tomas Nyberg
    Y1  - 2014/02/28
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14
    T2  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    JF  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    JO  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
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    EP  - 36
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2643
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140302.14
    AB  - We report on the quantitative dependence of the deposition rate during magnetron sputtering as a function of the atomic mass, processing pressure and substrate location relative to the target. Targets made of four different materials (C, Al, Ti and Ta), ranging from very light to rather heavy atomic masses, were investigated theoretically initially to determine the deposition rate distribution of the sputtered atoms. In the second part, targets made of different combinations of these materials (Ta/C, Ta/Al, Ta/Ti and Ti/Al) were sputtered to investigate the compositional variations of deposited films. The different targets were sputtered at both low (0.27 Pa) and high (2.7 Pa) pressures, and both the deposition rates and compositions were determined at four different locations in the chamber. Further, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the sputtered atoms in a simplified model of the vacuum chamber. Simulation and experiments are in adequate agreement and show a significant influence of the processing pressure on the deposition rate in various locations of the chamber. This effect is different for different target compositions and may sometimes result in very large compositional variations in films sputtered from segmented multi-element or alloy targets. Transport phenomena of the sputtered particles are also discussed based on a ballistic or diffusion-like process, depending on the sputtering pressure, mass and size of the sputtered atom as well as location in the deposition chamber. Since the materials studied range from light to heavy and the processing pressures cover the values where sputtering normally takes place, the results in this work can be extrapolated to predict the deposition profiles and compositional gradients for arbitrary material combinations and processing pressures.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Solid State Electronics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

  • Micro Nano Sciences & Systems Department, Institute FEMTO-ST, Université de Franche-Comté, France

  • Department of Solid State Electronics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

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