Computer-aided simulation of a rotary sputtering magnetron

In the past, computer-aided simulation of sputtering magnetron has been applied mainly to planar cathodes with flat target surfaces. In this work, we have simulated the target erosion profile of a cylindrical rotary magnetron by tracing electron trajectories and predicting ionization distribution. The electric potential is prescribed as a radial function. A fourth-order Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the electron movement equations, and a Monte Carlo method is employed to predict electron/Ar collision. It is shown that the simulation can predict the target erosion with reasonable accuracy. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.