AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session AS-ThP

Paper AS-ThP24
Advanced Process Modelling of the Rotating Magnetron

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 5:30 pm, Room 3rd Floor Lobby

Session: Aspects of Applied Surface Science Poster Session
Presenter: T. Nyberg, Uppsala University, Sweden
Authors: O. Kappertz, Uppsala University, Sweden
T. Kubart, Uppsala University, Sweden
T. Nyberg, Uppsala University, Sweden
S. Berg, Uppsala University, Sweden
Correspondent: Click to Email
Thin films of transition metal oxides and nitrides find numerous applications in modern technology, for example as antireflective or protective coatings in architectural glazings. Frequently such films are deposited by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering, and for large area coatings rotatable magnetron systems are commonly used. The rotation of a cylindrical target around a fixed magnet system leads to a uniform target erosion, and thereby more efficient material utilization and extended target lifetime. In such a setup a fixed point at the target surface is periodically exposed to sputter erosion, while for the rest of the period compound is formed at the target surface due to its exposure to the reactive gas. Recently a simplified analytical model has been proposed, which describes how several parameters, like the speed of the target rotation, size of the sputter zone and the current density, influence the compositional balance between compound formation and removal. In this report, the model is extended by including a full numerical simulation of the dynamical balance between sputter erosion and compound formation by both chemisorption and ion implantation. The influence of the target rotation on processing characteristics is discussed and compared to experimental observations.