Metal plasmas for the fabrication of nanostructures

A review is provided covering metal plasma production, the energetic condensation of metal plasmas, and the formation of nanostructures using such plasmas. Plasma production techniques include various approaches to ionizing metal vapour in a high-current discharge. Of special importance are different forms of ionized physical vapour deposition, namely magnetron sputtering with ionization of sputtered atoms in radio frequency discharges, metal self-sputtering, and high power impulse magnetron sputtering, filtered cathodic arcs and pulsed laser ablation. The discussion of energetic condensation focuses on the control of the kinetic energy by biasing. It also includes considerations of the potential energy and the surface and sub-surface processes occurring during ion subplantation and implantation. In the final section on nanostructures, two different approaches are discussed. In the top-down approach, the primary nanostructures are lithographically produced and metal plasma is used to conformally coat or completely fill trenches and vias. Additionally, multilayers with nanosize periods (nanolaminates) can be produced. In the bottom-up approach, thermodynamic forces are used to fabricate self-organized nanocomposites and nanoporous materials by decomposition and dealloying.