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This thesis is part of my PhD studies in the Plasma Technology working group at the Faculty of Mathematics and Science of the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel. Much of the work has been performed in collaborations with national and international partners. The central goal of my research is to study and understand the energy flux to a substrate which is in contact with a process plasma or an ion beam. The distinct focus of these investigation is on magnetron sputtering environments. The thesis is organized in two main parts: An introductory part which is intended to provide the reader with the relevant theoretical background applicable to the investigations presented in the experimental results. And the second part, where a selection of the results obtained as a part of my PhD studies are presented in the form of peer-reviewed publications which are organized according to the measurement method and type of investigated system. Additional to the relevant theory, the introductory part includes a chapter about the optimization of the passive thermal probe design and a detailed analysis of the calibration procedure. This part and the detailed description of the passive thermal probe are included, to point out some of the pitfalls that are encountered when working with thermal probes and give the reader insights into the details of this seemingly simple diagnostic method.