Plasma immersion ion implantation—a fledgling technique for semiconductor processing

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is a cluster compatible doping and processing tool offering many inherent advantages over conventional beamline ion implantation. When first introduced in the late 1980s, the technique was primarily used to enhance the surface mechanical properties of metals. Recently, a substantial amount of research activities have focused on microelectronics and have led to a number of very interesting applications, such as the formation of shallow junction, synthesis of silicon-on-insulator, large area implantation, trench doping, conformal deposition, and so on. In this paper, we will review the principles of PIII, the dynamic sheath model for various kinds of plasma, reactor designs, recent applications in the area of microelectronics, as well as the future of PIII pertaining to semiconductor materials and processing.