Plasma Sources for Thin Film Deposition and Etching

Book excerpt: This latest volume of the well-known Physics of Thin Films Series includes four chapters that discuss high-density plasma sources for materials processing, electron cyclotron resonance and its uses, unbalancedmagnetron sputtering, and particle formation in thin film processing plasma. - Chapter One develops a unified framework from which all "high-efficiency" sources may be viewed and compared; outlines key elements of source design affecting processing results; and highlights areas where additional research and development are needed - Chapter Two reviews and analyzes the main types of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sources suitable for ECR PACVD of thin films, mainly ECR sources using magnet coils - Chapter Three examines the benefits and limitations of the new technique, unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBM), along with the motivation for its development, the basic principles of its operation and commercial applications, and some speculations regarding the future of UBM technology - Chapter Four describes general phenomena observed in connection with particle formation in thin film processing plasmas; discusses particles in PECVD plasmas, sputtering plasmas, and RIE plasmas; presents an overview of the theoretical modeling of various aspects of particles in processing plasmas; examines issues of equipment design affecting particle formation; and concludes with remarks about the implications of this work for the control of process-induced particle contamination