Ionised physical vapour deposition (IPVD) is a plasma-based thin lm deposition technique in which the vapour of depositing material is dominated by ionic species rather than neutral particles [1]. Having high uxes of the ionic species, IPVD potentially oers technological advantages over conventional physical vapour depositions.
Firstly, depositing ions can be collimated by the plasma sheath resulting in anisotropic
deposition for lling vias and trenches in micro-electronic fabrication. Secondly, bombardment by depositing ions can enhance the surface mobility of a depositing material leading to a denser microstructure and higher adhesion for tribological coatings. Finally, the kinetic energy of depositing ions can be controlled by biasing the substrate,enabling one to adjust the properties of the deposited film.