Prediction of the evolution of the erosion profile in a direct current magnetron discharge

We have performed a simulation of ion and fast neutral transport in the she ath region of a direct current magnetron discharge under different pressure s by using the Boltzmann equation and the database from the two-dimensional (2D) results of a plasma structure, which was given by a hybrid model. Evo lution of the erosion profile on the target surface has been predicted by u sing the 2D energy distributions of ions and fast neutrals incident on the target (cathode) surface. We confirmed that an accurate prediction of the e rosion profile can be obtained by assuming that the constant sputtering yie ld corresponds to the cathode voltage under conditions of low pressures tha t make use of the film deposition processes. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)03018-2].