Large area ion and plasma beam sources

In the past a number of ion beam sources utilizing different methods for plasma excitation have been developed. The advantages of such sources in thin film or surface technologies are pointed out in a lot of publications. Nevertheless, a widespread use in industrial applications has not happened, since the sources were often not able to fulfill specific demands like: broad homogeneous ion beams, compatibility with reactive gases, low ion energies at high ion current densities or electrical neutrality of the beam. Our contribution wants to demonstrate technical capabilities of rf ion and plasma beam sources, which can overcome the above mentioned disadvantages. The physical principles and features of respective sources will be presented. We report on effective low pressure plasma excitation by Electron Cyclotron Wave Resonance (ECWR) for the generation of dense homogeneous plasmas and the rf plasma beam extraction method for the generation of broad low energy plasma beams. Some applications like direct plasma beam deposition of a-C:H and ion beam assisted deposition of Al and Cu with tailored thin film properties will be discussed.