Influence of Sputtering Pressure on the Micro-Topography of Sputtered Cu/Si Films: Integrated Multiscale Simulation

• Published in: Processes Vol. 11; no. 6; p. 1649
• Main Authors: Zhu, Guo, Han, Mengxin, Xiao, Baijun, Gan, Zhiyin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Analysis; Energy; Energy distribution; Epitaxy; Investigations; Magnetron sputtering; Numerical analysis; Photovoltaic cells; Pressure effects; Process controls; Silicon films; Simulation; Temperature effects; Thermalization (energy absorption); Topography
• ISSN: 2227-9717; 2227-9717
• DOI: 10.3390/pr11061649

In this work, an integrated multiscale simulation of magnetron sputtering epitaxy was conducted to study the effect of sputtering pressure on the surface micro-topography of sputtered Cu/Si films. Simulation results indicated that, as the sputtering pressure increased from 0.15 to 2 Pa, the peak energy of the incident energy distribution gradually decreased from 2 to 0.2 eV, which might be mainly due to the gradual decrease in the proportion of deposited Cu atoms whose energy ranged from 2 to 30 eV; the peak angle of the incident polar angle distribution increased from 25° to 35°, which might be attributed to the gradual thermalization of deposited Cu atoms; the growth mode of Cu film transformed from the two-dimensional layered mode to the Volmer-Weber mode. The transformation mechanism of growth mode was analyzed in detail. A comprehensive analysis of the simulation results indicated that incident energy ranging from 2 to 30 eV and incident angle between 10° and 35° might be conducive to the two-dimensional layered growth of sputtered Cu films. This work proposes an application-oriented modeling approach for magnetron sputtering epitaxy.