Modeling target erosion during reactive sputtering

The influence of the reactive sputter conditions on the racetrack and the sputter profile for an Al/O2 DC reactive sputter system is studied by modeling. The role of redeposition, i.e. the deposition of sputtered material back on the target, is therefore taken into account. The used model RSD2013 is capable of simulating the effect of redeposition on the target condition in a spatial resolved way. Comparison between including and excluding redeposition in the RSD2013 model shows that the in-depth oxidation profile of the target differs. Modeling shows that it is important to distinguish between the formed racetrack, i.e. the erosion depth profile, and the sputter profile. The latter defines the distribution of the sputtered atoms in the vacuum chamber. As the target condition defines the sputter yield, it does determine the racetrack and the sputter profile of the planar circular target. Both the shape of the racetrack and the sputter profile change as function of the redeposition fraction as well as function of the oxygen flow change. Clear asymmetries and narrowing are observed for the racetrack shape. Similar effects are noticed for the sputter profile but to a different extent. Based on this study, the often heard misconception that the racetrack shape defines the distribution of the sputtered atoms during reactive sputtering is proven to be wrong.