Abstract
Deposition by etching-enhanced reactive sputtering (DEERS) is believed to be a three-step process: plasma etching of a sputtering target, transport of volatile etch products to a substrate, followed by conversion of etch products adsorbed on the substrate to form a desired film material. While there are undoubtedly kinetic factors involved in this process, results of a thermodynamic analysis of the above process as a sequence of two chemical equilibrium reactors (target and substrate) correlates well with available experiments on oxide deposition and with optimum ratios of etchant to oxidant gases.
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Koss, V.A., Vossen, J.L. A thermodynamic model of deposition by etching-enhanced reactive sputtering. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 11, 439–453 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447158
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447158