Pulsed high energy density plasma processing silicon surface

Pulsed high energy density plasma (PHEDP) is a new material modification te chnique, which has the features of: high energy density (1-10 J/cm(2)), hig h plasma density (10(14)-10(16) cm(-3)), high electron temperature (10-100 eV), high directed plasma velocity (10-100 km/s) and short pulse duration ( 10-100 mus). PHEDP interacting with material will result in rapid melting a nd re-solidification of surface layer with a quenching rate up to 10(8) K/s ; thus the material surface properties are modified. At the same time, PHED P contains condensable ions or/and atoms, so a thin film layer can be forme d on the modified surface and the deposited layer can be mixed with the sub strate (or previous deposited layer) during following pulses. Therefore, th is technique actually combines film deposition and mixing into one step. In this paper, we have reported the research results on the metallization of Si by PHEDP. The Ti-Si reactions under PHEDP are also discussed. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.