Monte Carlo calculations of the properties of sputtered atoms at a substrate surface in a magnetron discharge

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Abstract
A Monte Carlo calculation of the transport of sputtered atoms in a magnetron discharge has been used to investigate the effect of the mass and binding energy of sputtered atoms, and the pressure of the background filling gas, assumed to be argon, on the sputtered atoms arriving at a substrate surface. The calculation uses a velocity dependent free path for collisions of sputtered atoms with filling gas atoms. The quantities calculated are: the fraction of sputtered atoms arriving at the substrate, the spatial deposition profile and the kinetic energy and impact angle distributions of the sputtered atom flux reaching the substrate. The main conclusion is that, at low filling gas pressures, the energetic component of the sputtered atom flux is a significant factor in the modification of deposited film properties; this is also the case for light atoms sputtered by heavier filling gas atoms at all pressures studied. The small changes in impact angle distribution with filling gas pressure do not seem to be a significant factor in determining film properties.

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