Experiment and simulation of the compositional evolution of Ti-B thin films deposited by sputtering of a compound target Radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition of calcium phosphate coatings: Monte Carlo simulations of the deposition process and depositions through an apertureThe power density at the substrate during sputter deposition was measured by a calorimetric method. In combination with measurements of the atomic deposition rate, the total amount of the energy input per incorporated atom was determined. The measured values range from 18 eV for aluminum to about 1000 eV maximum per atom for carbon. There is, for all elements investigated, a general trend for a linear increase of the energy per atom with increasing sputtering argon pressure over the range from 0.2 to 7 Pa. The energy per atom decreases with increasing power of the sputtering discharge. The application of a negative bias to the substrate reduces the total energy per atom to the values measured at low pressure of 0.4 Pa or below. The total energy flux in the low pressure range ͑0.4 Pa or less͒ can be well described by contributions due to plasma irradiation, the heat of condensation of the deposited atoms, their kinetic energy, and the kinetic energy of the reflected argon neutrals. The latter two components are a priori calculated by TRIM.SP Monte Carlo simulations. There is good agreement between the a priori calculated and the measured values. The combination of experimental and theoretical data result in empirical rules for the energies of the sputtered and reflected species, which allow an estimate of the energy input during sputter deposition for every elemental target material in the low pressure range. In a first approximation, the energy per incorporated atom is proportional to the ratio between target atomic mass and sputtering yield.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Amorphous Ge1-xCx alloys were deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering from a germanium target in methane-argon atmosphere. Structural investigations were performed by means of wide and small angle X-ray scattering, X-ray reflectometry and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The electronic transport properties were characterized using Hall-measurements and temperature depended conductivity. The results of X-ray techniques together with the electron microscopy clearly proof the existence of a segregation of the components and cluster formation already during deposition. The temperature dependence of the electronic conductivity in the as-prepared films follows the Mott' T−1/4 law, indicating transport by a hopping process. After annealing at 870 K, samples with x≤0.4 show crystallization of the Ge-clusters with a crystallite size being a function of x. After Ge-crystallization, the conductivity increases by 4 to 5 orders of magnitude. Above room temperature, electronic transport is determined by a thermally activated process. For lower temperatures, the σ(T) curves show a behaviour which is determined by the crystallite size and the free carrier concentration, both depending on the carbon content.