Mathematical simulation of transport processes in modern sputter-deposition techniques of thin films

Abstract

The well-known mathematical models are elaborated to study transport processes of particles of various origin in an ion-plasma sputter-deposition system (SDS). Detailed investigation of the transport of reactants to the growing surface enables one to predict the uniformity of the deposited film in both thickness and composition and also to detect the most dangerous regions on the substrate surface with respect to possible resputtering. The above-mentioned processes are considered using the YBaCuO system as an example. It has been found that the use of shields between a target and a substrate allows one to obtain films with high thickness and cation composition uniformity at planar on-axis arrangement. It has been shown that for typical regimes of the modern magnetron process of high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) films, the BaO particles are far more dangerous than the oxygen atoms, the bombardment by the latter being negligible near the magnetron axis. The possibility of hydrodynamic control of the deposition process of multicomponent thin films in SDS is demonstrated.