Magnetron sputter deposition as visualized by Monte Carlo modeling

The Monte Carlo code SIMTRA, simulating the transport of atoms from the source to the substrate during physical vapor deposition (PVD), is used in several case studies to highlight important issues related to thin film sputter deposition. Atom collisions during gas-phase transport affect the energy distribution and the deposition profile of sputtered atoms. The model is compared with published models for the thermalization of sputtered atoms, and some features of this process are discussed. The vacuum chamber design can be easily implemented in the Monte Carlo code, and this possibility is used to discuss the use of shutters and masks, and the influence of the deposition geometry. The code can also be used to predict the composition when combing different sources, segmented targets, and during combinatorial synthesis of thin films. As the details of the transport are described, the velocity and the density of the gas-phase atoms can be calculated which can assist in the interpretation of several spectroscopic techniques such as laser induced fluorescence. Not only the energy loss of the transported atoms, but also their remaining energy upon arrival at the substrate is important as the incident energy strongly influences thin film growth. To illustrate the latter, the model is also used to study the growth of biaxially aligned thin films. The key parameters influencing the level of alignment can easily be retrieved using SIMTRA.