The quality and the characteristics of the fabricated films are governed in PVD by numerous parameters, such as the deposition rate, substrate temperature, sub-strate materials and deposition atmosphere. In this chapter, we will first give a quick hint on the main PVD techniques and, then, a more detailed vision of the sputtering process without losing the generality of the presentation.

Chapter Contents:

• 7.1 Introduction
• 7.2 Thermal processes
• 7.2.1 Vacuum evaporation
• 7.2.2 Pulsed laser deposition
• 7.2.3 Molecular beam epitaxy
• 7.3 Sputtering
• 7.3.1 DC sputtering
• 7.3.1.1 Cathode and anode sheaths
• 7.3.1.2 DC discharge model
• 7.3.2 RF sputtering
• 7.3.2.1 RF discharge model
• 7.3.2.2 Matching network
• 7.3.2.3 Magnetron
• 7.3.2.4 Control system of the thickness
• 7.4 Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• References

Inspec keywords: substrates; thin films; sputter deposition; vacuum deposition

Other keywords: atmospheric deposition; sputtering process; substrate temperature; thin-film deposition; PVD techniques

Subjects: Deposition by sputtering; Vacuum deposition; Thin film growth, structure, and epitaxy