Experimental and Numerical Study on Film Thickness Distribution of DC Magnetron Sputtering

Based on the analysis of the working principle of the small circular magnetron sputtering plane target, a mathematical theoretical model of film thickness distribution was established. With the software of MATLAB,the distribution of film thickness at different target base distances was calculated and analyzed, then the reliability of the model was verified by measuring the film thickness distribution under two different target base distances. The model and experimental results showed that as the target base distance increased, the change rate of the film thickness slowed down, the average thickness of the film layer decreased, and the uniformity of the distribution was improved. Furthermore, it also illustrated that at a certain target base distance, with widening the etching area of the target material, the thickness of the film and its uniformity would be increased. Finally, it put forward that the film thickness distribution on the substrate tended to be thinner from the center to the edge. With the increase of the target base distance, the thickest position of the film was gradually shifted to the center of the substrate from the projection position of the deepest part of the target etched groove on the substrate.