Precise control of atomic nitrogen production in an electron cyclotron resonance plasma using N₂/noble gas mixtures

The atomic nitrogen flux and impacting ion kinetic energy are two important parameters which influence the quality of deposited nitride films using reactive growth. In this letter, a method is described to control the flux and kinetic energy of atomic and molecular nitrogen ions using an electron cyclotron resonance plasma with N₂/Ar and N₂/Ne gas mixtures. The results clearly show that the addition of neon to nitrogen plasma can remarkably enhance the production rate of atomic nitrogen due to Penning ionization involving the metastable state of Ne. In contrast, the addition of argon significantly decreases the rate.