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 La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ and YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ 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.