Steady state growth conditions in ion assisted or induced planar thin film deposition

Abstract

A generalized model is developed to predict planar, depth independent composition, thin film growth rates and concentration ratios for multicomponent incident fluxes in both ion assisted and ion induced deposition systems. Solutions are based on the physical requirements of species particle volume flux conservation, total volume conservation and equal growth rates of all species. Monotonically varying or maximized growth rates and concentration can result if deposition and sputtering parameters are suitable, and the predictions are shown to compare qualitatively with existing experimental data.