Effect of flux clusterization on the thickness of films deposited by magnetron and pulsed laser sputtering of metal oxides

We have studied the relation between clusterization in the flux of a substance and the thickness of deposited films obtained by the magnetron and pulsed laser sputtering of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 and YBa2Cu3O7 − δ targets, respectively. No cluster formation has been observed in the case of magnetron sputtering, which is explained by a low concentration of atoms (ions) in the sputtered material flux. In accordance with calculations for the flux of non-interacting atoms, the deposited film thickness (h) exhibits exponential decrease with increasing distance (L) from the target. In the case of pulsed laser sputtering, for which the concentration of sputtered substance in the plasma is four orders of magnitude higher, the h(L) curve sharply deviates from the calculated dependence for the distances L > 6.2 cm, which is explained by the onset of intense clusterization in the laser plasma flux.