Simulations of trench-filling profiles under ionized magnetron sputter metal deposition

Numerical simulation results are presented for microscopic profile evolutions of deposited metal films in trench structures under ionized magnetron sputter deposition. The model used for the simulations takes account of the deposition of both ionized and neutral metal species and sputtering (i.e., etching) of the deposited film by the bombardment of metal and inert-gas (such as argon) ions. The evolution of the surface topography is calculated numerically using the shock-tracking algorithm. Numerical results are also compared with experimental observations. A primary application of this metal deposition technique is interconnect metallization on semiconductors.