Abstract
AuO+ and AuO+2 gaseous ions formed during the sputtering of an Au target in 1.0×102 Torr, rf‐excited Ar‐O2 discharges were studied by glow‐discharge mass spectrometry. These ions are created from neutral species in the negative glow and are incident on the substrate during a sputter deposition. The relative flux of AuO+2 /Au+, AuO+/Au+, and AuO+2 /AuO+ was determined for gas compositions from 100% Ar to 100% O2. The results show that the arrival of Au‐oxide species at the substrate, in addition to Au atoms, must be taken into account when modeling the growth of Au films sputter deposited in O2‐bearing discharges.