Front tracking simulations of ion deposition and resputtering

This paper describes surface evolution formulated in terms of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation and a solution algorithm based on a three-dimensional front tracking algorithm. Our method achieves sharp resolution in the evolution of surface edges and corners. This study is motivated by semiconductor chip evolution during deposition and resputtering processes. For this reason, we discuss here the effects of diffuse rescattering on surface features. We illustrate some of the three-dimensional capabilities of the front tracking algorithm. We also present a validation study by display of two-dimensional cross sections of three-dimensional simulations of a finite-length trench. The cross sections correspond to two-dimensional simulations of S. Hamaguchi and S. M. Rossnagel [J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 13 (1995), pp. 183-191].