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Abstract

Plasma deposition in which properties of a discharge plasma are controlled by modifying the grounding path of the plasma is potentially applicable in any plasma deposition environment, but finds particular use in ionized physical vapor deposition (iPVD) gapfill applications. Plasma flux ion energy and E/D ratio can be controlled by modifying the grounding path (grounding surface's location, shape and/or area). Control of plasma properties in this way can reduce or eliminate reliance on conventional costly and complicated RF systems for plasma control. For a high density plasma source, the ionization fraction and ion energy can be high enough that self-sputtering may occur even without any RF bias. And unlike RF induced sputtering, self-sputtering has narrow ion energy distribution, which provides better process controllability and larger process window for integration.

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First Claim