Simulation Study Of The Sputtering Yield And The Target Erosion On The Magnetron Sputtering Process

Magnetron sputtering that has been broadly used to fabricate a variety of thin films is a kind of physical vapor deposition (PVD), which consists of two main microscopic processes, one is the generation and transportation of the vapor phase particles to form the thin film, the other is the diffusion and aggregation of the film atoms on substrate, which leads to the formation of the film. Sputtering process of target which generate the particles to form the thin film is the key component. In the Sputtering process of target, the sputtering yield and the target erosion are the interested content. A majority of studies are focused on the characteristics of thin films and the target erosion via experiments which are expensive and time- consuming. Computer simulation that is now becoming a more and more important method for scientific research and can be used as a complementary to theory and experiment, so researches focused on the characteristics of thin films and the target erosion via computer simulation are more and more recognized.There are two main contents. One is the simulating the sputtering process with the MC method, and following the states (energy, direction and location) of the particles (incident ions and sputtered atoms), the other is bringing forward a model that describes the opposite relationship between the electromagnetic distribution on the target surface and the shape of the target erosion, and changing the electro- magnetic distribution on the target surface via additional magnet to improve the target using- efficiency.The main results of this article are: (1) The simulation results of argon ion sputtering Ni target, which are in good agreement with the fundamental experimental results, moreover the energy and the angle distribution of sputtered atoms provide base for the further simulating calculation to deposit films; (2) The best parameters of magnetic ring are obtained.