Inductively coupled Ar plasmas were found to produce substantially less ion-induced damage than did electron cyclotron resonance plasmas having the same average ion energy. Changes in sheet resistance were attributed mainly to the introduction of deep-level compensating defects which reduced both carrier density and mobility. It was noted that p-type material was more susceptible to plasma-induced damage than was n-type material, and the changes in electrical properties were due mainly to carrier trapping.

J.W.Lee, D.Hays, C.R.Abernathy, S.J.Pearton, W.S.Hobson, C.Constantine: Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 1997, 144[9], L245-7