Mo/Si multilayers sputtered onto inclined substrates: experiments and simulations.

We performed experiments involving the fabrication of Mo/Si multilayer coatings and established a model of the deposition process. The surface and interface roughness, surface power spectral density, layer structures, and coating reflectivity were characterized for different substrate inclination angles. The surface and interface roughness increase and the coating reflectivity decreases with an increase in the substrate inclination angle, especially for large angles (50-70°). The model was applied to explain this phenomenon, and a proposal to reduce the interfacial roughness caused by substrate inclination angles is presented.