Nanoscale materials modification via low-energy reactive plasmas

Materials modification of thin films and nanoparticles through the use of reactive plasmas is discussed. Pulsed radio-frequency nitrogen plasmas have been well characterized through measurement of the ion energy distribution in the plasma. The low-energy nitrogen plasmas are successfully used for nitrogen incorporation into ultrathin MOSFET gate dielectrics, where nitrogen dose control and nitrogen profile control are both critical. The use of low-energy, pulsed radio-frequency reactive plasmas for other applications where composition and morphology need to be controlled at the nanometer scale is considered.