A PULSED HIGH-CURRENT ELECTRON-ION-CLUSTER SOURCE FOR THE DEPOSITION OF FILMS AND COATINGS

A new compact ion cluster source (CICS) for generating pulsed cluster beams is described and applied to the production of films of C, Cu and Al for semiconductor applications. It is then used in combination wit h a second source, an intense electron-ion diode source with explosive emission which was presented previously. This latter is used for a su rface pre-treatment step, before depositing a film with the CICS, to r emove surface native oxides and impurities and modify the surface topo graphy and roughness with the intention of enhancing adhesion. The com bined treatment is used to deposit well-adhering coatings of copper on stainless steel; these can be of the order of 100-mu m thick. Finally , the fractal dimension of surfaces after electron or ion bombardment and coating is quantified. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights r eserved.