Ion energy and ion flux control during deposition of thin oxide films

This paper reports on the use of ion energy and ion flux during the deposition of thin amorphous AIDx , SiO, and ZnO using expanding thermal plasma (ETP) CVD. This plasma deposition method enables a good control of both ion flux by changing the deposition chemistry and arc plasma settings as well as the ion energy by an additional RF biasing or a so called tailored ion biasing technique based on the work by Wendt et al.l1] In the latter case an almost mono-cnergetic ion energy distribution resulls with a typical width below 5 eV. Due to the low electron temperature in the ETP (Te <0,3 eV) ion energies can be controlled dmvn to values as low as 3 eV, The ion energy and ion flux control is utilized to engineer the material. the interface properties and the initial growth conditions. In particular we will demonstrate low temperature (50-100 degrees C) growth of dense SiO2 and AIOx films and stress and adhesion control of dense SiOx on polymer substrates Furthermore, the manipulation of the initial growth conditions by controlled ion bombardment during the growth of ZnO will be discussed [Il S -B Wang. and, A E Wendt,) Appl Phys 88,643 (2000)