An rf sustained argon and copper plasma for ionized physical vapor deposition of copper

Langmuir probe, optical emission spectroscopy, and biased quartz crystal microbalance measurements were used to investigate an argon and copper plasma used for ionized physical vapor deposition of copper. Copper vapor generated by a magnetron sputter discharge is ionized upon passing through an argon discharge excited by an internal rf induction antenna. Argon plasma characteristics such as electron temperatures Te , plasma densities ne , and plasma and floating potentials Vp and V f , were studied as a function of argon pressure and rf power. An increase of plasma density versus rf discharge power and argon pressure was observed. The radial profile of plasma density measured by a Langmuir probe reveals a peak ion density at the center of the rf antenna and an increase in the radial ion concentration gradient with argon pressure. The ratios of optical emission intensities from Cu ion and Cu neutral lines increase with rf discharge power and argon pressure. The biased quartz crystal microbalance measurements show an increase of both Cu ion flux and the ratio of Cu ion to Cu neutral fluxes with rf power and argon pressure; however, they also show a decrease of total Cu flux with increasing argon pressure. © 1999 American Institute of Physics. @S0021-8979~99!00811-7#