| abstract |
Plasma deposition, in which the properties of the discharge plasma are controlled by altering the ground path of the plasma, is potentially available in any plasma deposition environment, but finds particular use in ionized physical vapor deposition (iPVD) gap fill applications. The plasma flux ion energy and the E / D ratio can be controlled by changing the ground path (position, shape and / or area of the ground plane). Control of plasma properties in this manner can reduce or eliminate dependence on conventional, costly and complex RF systems for plasma control. For high density plasma sources, the ionization fraction and ion energy may be high enough so that self-sputtering may occur without any RF bias. And, unlike RF-induced sputtering, self-sputtering has a narrow ion energy distribution, which provides better process control capability for integration and a larger process window. |