A Review of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Assisted Magnetron Sputter System

For plasma-based deposition techniques, high ionization through high-density plasma plays an important role in improving the deposited film. Various deposition methods such as high-power impulse magnetron sputtering and ion-beam sputtering have been developed for physical vapor deposition technology and are still being studied. Further, studies have been carried out to control the characteristics of the deposited films by directly controlling plasma characteristics using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) antenna; this is called an ICP-assisted magnetron sputter (ICP MS) technology. The ICP MS method exhibits the characteristics of low resistance, high materials density, and low stress because it can perform processes at low temperatures and with high-density ion bombardment at low energies. Using the ICP-assisted sputter technology, the crystal structure of a thin film can be also controlled. In recent years, devices and thin films that are becoming finer are required to have a low resistance property in a thin film and a low temperature process because of the possible thin-film thermal damage. In this review, some of the important aspects of the ICP MS technology, which can solve problems such as low resistance, high density thin film, and low temperature process, are discussed.