Proceedings

EPJ D Topical review - Theory and molecular simulations of plasma sputtering, transport and deposition processes

One shot atomistic simulations of sputtering deposition

A new Topical Review published in EPJD provides an overview of the basic theory of sputtering with recent models, focussing in particular on sputtered atom energy distribution functions. Models such as Monte-Carlo, kinetic Monte-Carlo, and classical Molecular Dynamics simulations are presented due to their ability to describe the various processes involved in sputtering, transport and deposition processes.

Written by authors from GREMI –CNRS- University of Orléans and SAFRAN TECH, this review aims to popularize the use of the described models in understanding phenomena at the molecular scale, and to track the role of molecular phenomena in the overall sputter deposition system. The intention is to provide researchers, theoreticians, modellers, experimentalists and industry engineers modern tools for reaching such understanding.

The review addresses sputtering theory through an historical perspective and provides recent developments of analytical theory describing sputtered material energy distribution functions. This is followed by a presentation of Monte-Carlo approaches to magnetron discharge modelling. The core of the review is devoted to the different numerical simulations of plasma sputtering, transport and deposition using atomistic models: Monte-Carlo, kinetic Monte-Carlo, and Molecular Dynamics are detailed, providing the basic information required by the reader to build him/her-self such simulations. It also addresses ways to make comparison with experimental results. It is organized in a manner which shows these simulations as numerical experiments, relevant for exploring basic phenomena not simply addressed by analysis tools. Such an atomistic approach can be easily extended to chemical engineering processing, such as (plasma enhanced) chemical vapour deposition.

This was our first experience of publishing with EPJ Web of Conferences. We contacted the publisher in the middle of September, just one month prior to the Conference, but everything went through smoothly. We have had published MNPS Proceedings with different publishers in the past, and would like to tell that the EPJ Web of Conferences team was probably the best, very quick, helpful and interactive. Typically, we were getting responses from EPJ Web of Conferences team within less than an hour and have had help at every production stage.
We are very thankful to Solange Guenot, Web of Conferences Publishing Editor, and Isabelle Houlbert, Web of Conferences Production Editor, for their support. These ladies are top-level professionals, who made a great contribution to the success of this issue. We are fully satisfied with the publication of the Conference Proceedings and are looking forward to further cooperation. The publication was very fast, easy and of high quality. My colleagues and I strongly recommend EPJ Web of Conferences to anyone, who is interested in quick high-quality publication of conference proceedings.

On behalf of the Organizing and Program Committees and Editorial Team of MNPS-2019, Dr. Alexey B. Nadykto, Moscow State Technological University “STANKIN”, Moscow, Russia. EPJ Web of Conferences vol. 224 (2019)

ISSN: 2100-014X (Electronic Edition)

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