Electron-cyclotron-resonant microwave plasma system for thin-film deposition

A new microwave plasma method for the fabrication of solid films is presented. Microwave power is efficiently transferred to the plasma, resulting in minimal power requirements. Uniform silicon films have been fabricated with a wide range of optical and electronic properties, at high deposition rates and low substrate temperatures. In a magnetically well-confined plasma operating in the vicinity of electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) conditions, film properties are strongly dependent upon the intensity of the externally applied dc magnetic field. The departure of the plasma chemistry from that associated with conventional rf systems is manifested in the observation of some opposite trends in the growth of the films.