Ta. Beer et al., Study of the ignition behavior of a pulsed dc discharge used for plasma-assisted chemical-vapor deposition, J VAC SCI A, 18(2), 2000, pp. 423-434
An investigation of a pulsed de discharge used for plasma-assisted chemical
-vapor deposition of titanium nitride has been performed in order to unders
tand the nonuniformity of quality and thickness of the deposited films. The
experiments have been performed using a gateable image intensifier to stud
y the temporal and spatial light intensity of the discharge. Additionally,
a single Langmuir probe has been used to study the temporal evolution of th
e plasma potential and the charged particle density. The influence of varyi
ng parameters like geometry, gas composition, voltage, pressure, duration o
f the pulses, etc., on the spreading of the plasma has been investigated. O
ur experiments reveal that in the presence of electronegative species like
TiCl4, which is a source gas for the production of titanium nitride, the sp
reading of the discharge along the substrates is slow, reaching some parts
of the reactor with substantial delay. The result is a nonuniform plasma po
wer density in front of the cathode as well as a spatially varying exposure
time of the surface to the plasma. These effects are the reason for the in
homogeneity of the deposited films. The experiments revealed that the slow
spreading of the discharge is accompanied with low local cathode fall volta
ges. The problems with the slow spreading of the discharge can be solved by
measures which increase the conductivity of the plasma at the beginning of
the pulses. The effectiveness of such measures has been studied. (C) 2000
American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(00)09702-5].