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M. Horkel:
"Growth of Complex Oxides: Characterization of the Metal Flux during Magnetron Deposition with Special Emphasis on the Angular Distribution";
Betreuer/in(nen), Begutachter/in(nen): C. Eisenmenger-Sittner; Institut für Festkörperphysik, 2011; Rigorosum: 19.01.2011.

ABSTRACT
To understand the film growth during magnetron sputter deposition, especially for more demanding deposition techniques like reactive co-sputtering from two sources, a detailed knowledge of the flux of sputtered species from the target towards the substrate is vital. One important parameter is the angular distribution of the impinging neutral target atoms on the substrate, since it is responsible for e.g. self shadowing effects or film thickness uniformity. Additionally, the determination of the angular distribution of the metal flux can provide insight into the fundamental principles of sputter deposition. On the one hand the experimentally obtained results can be compared with simulations, thus proving whether the used models are valid or not. On the other hand, important parameters like the nascent angular distribution of the sputtered particles can be derived directly from the angular distribution of the arriving flux.
The determination of the angular distribution of the metal flux at an arbitrary point in the deposition chamber is achieved by a pinhole-camera, where the information of the angular distribution is converted into a thickness profile. This thesis describes the construction of such a pinhole-camera which is capable to determine the angular distribution for a wide variety of target materials, and which can easily be inserted into a deposition chamber. In the case of non-reactive sputtering, angular distributions of different materials (Cu; W; Al; Ti; Mg), different target geometries (planar, cylindrical, rotatable) at different parameters (pressure, lateral position, and vertical position) are experimentally determined and compared to simulations obtained from a newly developed Monte Carlo code. It was also investigated, if parameters derived from the angular distribution are related to energy related parameters of the impinging particles, or to the nascent angular distribution. Also, the influence of a reactant like oxygen on the angular distribution of the arriving flux was investigated for different materials and target geometries. It was found that the addition of the reactive gas has an impact on both, the nascent angular distribution of sputtered particles as well as on the transport of the neutral metal atoms through the gas phase.