Plasma source ion implantation: history, successes, failures, challenges, and future prospects

Summary form only given, as follows. Plasma Source Ion Implantation (PSII) represents a radical departure from conventional ion implantation technology. PSII circumvents the line of sight restriction inherent in conventional ion implantation. In PSII, targets to be implanted are placed directly in a plasma source and then pulse-biased to a high negative potential. A plasma ion matrix sheath forms around the target and ions bombard the entire target compared with conventional ion implantation, PSII minimizes the problems of shadowing and excessive sputtering of the target material, which can severely limit the retained dose of the implanted ion species. Uniformity can be achieved in a batch processing mode. The author presents: a historical overview of the development of PSII, a brief review of PSII physics and technology, a summary of world-wide PSII activities, a discussion of laboratory and industrial field test results with PSII, recent developments leading to scale-up and commercialization of PSII, recent extensions of PSII technology to semiconductor processing, and an assessment of future prospects for commercial development of PSII.