Sputter Type HF Ion Source for Ion Beam Deposition Apparatus

Abstract

A sputter-type HF(high-frequency) ion source was developed. The L-coupled high-frequency discharge phenomenon was combined with DC diode sputtering to enhance the plasma density. A high-density plasma of 3×1012 ions/cm3 was effectively generated at an HF power of 300W, since the plasma could almost be confined in the limited space of a target, an HF coil and an ion extraction aperture electrode. Then, most of the solid source materials were effectively vaporized by high-rate sputtering (400 Å/s for Cu target) in the ionization region and were simultaneously highly ionized. The excess energy and the energy spread ΔE of the extracted ion beam were 13.5 eV and 7.8 eV, respectively. The maximum ion current of the mass separated Cu+ current was 530 µA without deceleration, under the conditions of an Ar sputter gas pressure of 1×10-1 Torr (1.33×101 Pa), HF power of 300W, and an extraction voltage of 10 kV, respectively.