Development of Plasma Technologies for Advanced Plasma-Based Ion Implantation Processes Using Internal-Antenna-Driven Large-Volume RF Plasma Sources

从微电子器件制造到先进的PVD技术，包括基于等离子体的离子注入(PBII)，开发具有高等离子体密度的大面积和/或大体积等离子体源是各种等离子体工艺的需要。目前的研究是通过多个低电感天线(LIA)单元的电感耦合来开发米级大面积射频等离子体源，作为一种可应用于先进PBII工艺的高效高密度源的候选方案。我们提出的独特源配置的新方案是基于多个独立运行的电感耦合等离子体装置的原理，这使得可以通过主动控制功率沉积分布来进行低压等离子体生产。1)在米级电离室的放电实验中，产生了密度高达5×10~(-3)cm~(-3)的高密度等离子体。2)研究表明，采用低电感、有效抑制静电耦合的内部天线结构可以有效地获得较高的等离子体密度。3)研究了纳米复合涂层的组织结构和性能，并将其应用于超硬材料涂层的先进表面改性工艺。4)LIA单元安装在放电室的壁上，并耦合到独立的射频电源，用于独立和集成地控制功率沉积分布，显著提高了功率控制精度。5)通过开发数值模拟程序(电磁程序、粒子程序和流体程序)研究了大面积等离子体源的设计问题，论证了尺寸为3m的新型大面积等离子体源满足下一代工艺要求的可行性。

Development of large-area and/or large-volume plasma sources with high plasma density is desired for a variety of plasma processes from microelectronics device fabrications to advanced PVD technologies including plasma-based ion implantation (PBII). The present investigations have been performed to develop meter-scale large-area RF plasma sources by inductive coupling of multiple low-inductance antenna (LIA) units, as a promising candidate for efficient high-density sources which can be applied to advanced PBII processes. Our new proposal of the unique source configuration is based on the principle of multiple and independent operation of ICP units, which allows the low-voltage plasma production with active control of power deposition profiles. 1) Discharge experiments with a meter-scale chamber resulted in high-density plasma production with densities as high as 5x10^<11>cm^<-3>. 2) It has been demonstrated that high plasma density can be obtained efficiently using the low-inductance internal antenna configuration with effectively suppressed electrostatic coupling. 3) Microstructures and properties of nanocomposite coatings have also been studied for applications to advanced surface modification processes with superhard-material coatings. 4) The LIA units are mounted on the wall of the discharge chamber and are coupled to a separated RF power source for independent and integrated control of power deposition profile, which exhibited significant improvements in the power control precision. 5) Design issues for large-area plasma sources were studied by developing numerical simulation codes (electromagnetic code, particle code and fluid code) and feasibility of novel large-area plasma sources with a scale size of 3m has been demonstrated to meet the requirements of the next-generation processes.