Influence of annular magnet on discharge characteristics in enhanced glow discharge plasma immersion ion implantation

A permanent annular magnet positioned at the grounded anode alters the discharge characteristics in enhanced glow discharge plasma immersion ion implantation (EGD-PIII). The nonuniform magnetic field increases the electron path length and confines electron motion due to the magnetic mirror effect and electron-neutral collisions thus occur more frequently. The plasma potential and ion density measured by a Langmuir probe corroborate that ionization is improved near the grounded anode. This hybrid magnetic field EGD-PIII method is suitable for implantation of gases with low ionization rates.