Filling of submicron width trenches with Cu from a highly ionized plasma is sensitive to both the directionality of the depositing flux and reflection and resputtering at the film surface. The spatial distributions of Cu atoms sputtered by He+, Ar+, and Xe+ions incident at 30°, 45°and 60°and over an ion energy range of∼55–600 eV have been investigated. In all cases, the distribution is forward directed and cannot be described by a cosine distribution about the surface normal. Decreasing energy, increasing angles of incidence, and increasing ion mass yield more forward directed distributions. For∼55 eV Ar+incident at 60°,∼85&percent; of the resputtered flux is in the forward direction. From these distributions, in a 50&percent; ionized physical vapor deposition system the depositing flux due to forward directed resputtering is estimated to be of the same order of magnitude as the neutral flux. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.