The transient and steady state thermal flux at the substrate during the deposition of aluminum film in a direct current magnetron sputter system has been determined by measuring the resistance of a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. The sensor is calibrated using ohmic self-heating before the plasma is switched on. The steady state thermal flux at the substrate was measured to vary from 9.6 to 46 mW/cm(2) at a substrate-target distance of 10.8 cm depending on the magnetron power (75-300 W) and gas pressure. Plasma radiation and electron bombardment are noted to be the most significant sources of the thermal flux to the substrate, each contributing about 36% and 29%, respectively, of the total thermal flux at the substrate for a magnetron power of 200 W and gas pressure of 5 mTorr. Thermal radiation is also an important factor, along with kinetic energy and condensation energy. Total energy per deposited atom is calculated to be in the range of 28-52 eV depending on the magnetron power and gas pressure, and increases with pressure but decreases with magnetron power. The trend seems to suggest that at higher magnetron powers (>300 W for a 3 in. target), a pressure independent total energy per deposited atom may be obtained.