Patent ID: 6745717
Filing Date: 2004-06-08
Classification: C23C,H01L

Abstract:
An apparatus for producing nitride films comprising:(a) a pair of corona-discharge producing electrodes, (b) a nitrogen delivery path leading to a nozzle at which the electrodes produce a corona discharge, (c) means to locate a substrate along the nitrogen delivery path downstream of the location at which the electrodes produce the corona discharge for deposition thereon of nitrogen activated by the corona discharge at a location sufficiently distant from the corona-discharge producing electrodes such that essentially the only activated nitrogen impingent on the substrate is N2A3&Sgr;u+, and (d) the distance within the apparatus from the corona-discharge producing electrodes to the means to locate a substrate providing a transit time of the nitrogen traveling therebetween along the nitrogen delivery path exceeding the lifetime of activated nitrogen in states other than N2A3&Sgr;u+, whereby those states are effectively filtered out of nitro en reaching the location of the means to locate a substrate.