Experiments in conformal metal plasma ion implantation

Summary form only given, as follows. A cathodic-arc derived metal plasma typically has a drift velocity of order 1 cm//spl mu/s, which tends to make deposition processes line-of-sight. However, if the target is biased to a negative potential, the metal ions can be made to "turn the corner", allowing some degree of conformality in implantation processes. We present an experimental study of implant conformality around a cylinder fired upon by a single cathodic arc, as a function of cylinder bias (0-30 keV), and ion mass (light: Ti, heavy: Er). These experimental results are compared to those derived from particle-in-cell plasma simulations and ion implantation profile codes.