ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE PLASMA ION-SOURCE FOR MATERIAL DEPOSITIONS

An electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma has been used in conjunct ion with solid metal targets for deposition of various metal and oxide compounds. A large microwave system provides dense and high-quality f ilms at low gas pressures with a plasma generation independent on the sputtering process. The 2.45 GHz microwave power is introduced in the reactor via two separate rectangular waveguides and the plasma cross s ection is 20X5 cm(2) in area. High plasma densities over 4X10(11) cm(- 3) were measured by interferometry. An iron deposition rate of 2000 An gstrom/mn has been achieved. Transparent aluminum oxide Al2O3 films wi th a refractive index of 1.57 were obtained under a deposition rate of 150 Angstrom/mn. The association of several rectangular plasma chambe rs similar to the elementary plasma source used in this work is discus sed. Direct metal ion production was also investigated in such a waveg uide plasma source. Metal vaporization and ionization have been provid ed by energetic electrons from the ECR surface. Thus, a Zn+ ion curren t density of 30 mA/cm(2) has been reached without support gas. (C) 199 8 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(98)05506-3].