The helicon wave plasma source coupled with a 13.56 MHz rf field has been characterized with the aid of an electrical probe and the retarding field energy analyzer in order to investigate the possibility of application for a thin film process. The high values of Ar plasma density (greater than 10(13) cm(-3) in the plasma column and 10(11) cm(-3) in the reaction chamber) can be obtained under the condition of resonant coupling. The uniformity of plasma density around the substrate in the deposition chamber was achieved by surrounding magnetic multipoles in the cusp held configuration. The deposition of BN film on the Si substrate was successfully carried out by dissociating the borazine (B3N3H6) precursor in the plasma. Due to the high density plasma, the deposition proceeds at a satisfactorily fast rate despite the low pressure of 0.3 mTorr.