Method for the high rate plasma deposition of high quality material

A method of fabricating high quality thin films at a relatively high rate of deposition, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing an enclosure;
• maintaining the interior of said enclosure at a sub-atmospheric background pressure;
• introducing an energy transferring gas into the interior of said enclosure through at least one aperture formed in a first conduit;
• creating a choke condition adjacent the aperture in said first conduit so as to provide a localized high pressure of energy transferring gas flowing therethrough;
• activating said energy transferring gas in an activation region so as to form a high density plume of activated species from said energy transferring gas;
• introducing a precursor deposition gas into the interior of said enclosure through a second conduit;
• the point of introduction of said precursor deposition gas from said second conduit into said enclosure being spacedly disposed relative to said activation region, whereby collisions of said high density of activated species with said precursor deposition gas define a collision region in which a high density of energized deposition species of said precursor deposition gas are generated;
• operatively disposing substrate means interiorly of said enclosure for depositing energized deposition species of said precursor deposition gas thereupon;
• said substrate means spacedly positioned from said activation region a distance sufficient to substantially prevent electron damage;
• and
• maintaining a substantial pressure differential between the pressure of said energy transferring gas in said first conduit and the background pressure in said enclosure, said pressure differential being sufficient to, provide for the activation of a high density of activated species of said energy transferring gas, whereby high quality thin film material of desired deposition species is deposited onto said substrate at a rate greater than about 5 Angstroms per second.