Trench homogeneity in plasma immersion ion implantation

Neon was implanted into silicon pieces mounted onto aluminium trench structures using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The spatially resolved depth profiles, obtained by elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), were compared with two-dimensional simulation results from particle-in-cell (PIC) calculations. Good qualitative agreement was obtained, however the absolute measured doses are too high. This can be explained by the interaction of secondary electrons with the plasma, increasing the ion density, and by density inhomogeneities within the plasma. Furthermore, the 2D simulation cannot adequately describe the 3D experiment as a significant flux of ions from the outside of the symmetry plane into it is observed in the experiment. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.