Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, Vol.19, No.6, 2958-2962, 2001
Inner surface coating of TiN by the grid-enhanced plasma source ion implantation technique
An inner surface coating of a tubular sample was realized by a new method of grid-enhanced plasma source ion implantation (GEPSII), which is an extension of previous plasma source ion implantation inner surface modification. In GEPSII, a rf plasma core is produced between a center cathode and a grid electrode, which are coaxially arranged inside the tubular sample. Negative high voltage pulses are applied between the grid electrode and the inner surface of the tubular sample, thus an accelerating field for positive ions can be established between the grid electrode and the inner surface of the sample. In addition, particles of solid matter can be introduced into the rf plasma by sputtering the cathode, thus, it is possible to realize metal ion implantation and film deposition. In this article, the concept of GEPSII and some preliminary measurement results of this method are presented, and TiN films are produced on the inner surface of a tubular sample, which is a cylinder of an automobile. The plasma density profiles and plasma electron temperature inside the sample are measured by a Langmuir probe. It is shown that the axial plasma density profile is rather uniform in GEPSII. TiN films were also deposited on single-crystal silicon substrates, which are arranged on the inner surface of the cylinder.