This article describes the development of an integrated physical model for the rf diode sputtering of metal thin films. The model consists of (1) a computational fluid dynamic finite element model for the velocity and pressure distribution of the working gas Ar flow in the chamber, (2) a steady-state plasma model for the flux and energy of Ar ions striking the target and the substrate, (3) a molecular dynamics sputtering model for the energy distribution, angle distribution, and yield of the sputtered atoms (Cu) from the target, and (4) a direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) model for the transport of Cu atoms through the low-pressure argon gas to the deposition substrate. The individual models for gas flow, plasma discharge, Cu sputtering, and DSMC based Cu atom transport are then integrated to create a detailed, steady-state, input-output model capable of predicting thin-film deposition rate and uniformity as a function of the process input-variables: power, pressure, gas temperature, and electrode spacing. Deposition rate and uniformity in turn define the characteristics of thin films exploited in applications, for example, the saturation magnetic held for a giant magnetoresistive multilayer. This article also describes the development of an approximate input-output model whose CPU time is several orders-of-magnitude faster than that of the detailed model. Both models were refined and validated against experimental data obtained from rf diode sputtering experiments.