Mode transitions and hysteresis in inductively coupled plasmas

Optical emission spectroscopy as a noninvasive plasma diagnostic was employed to study mode transitions and hysteresis in an inductively coupled plasma in Ar and Ar/N-2 mixtures. Using selected Ar lines, basic plasma parameters, relevant to the analysis of the mode transitions, were evaluated. Small changes of the electron energy distribution function in the vicinity of the mode transition were detected. The role of metastable Ar atoms in mode transitions and in a hysteresis was clarified. Enhanced production of metastables in the hysteresis region as well as faster transitions in plasmas with higher influence of metastables were observed. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.101

Study Of Mode Transitions In Inductively Coupled Plasmas

The transitions between low density and high density modes in an inductively coupled plasma reactor were studied by the measurements of different spectral line emissions in Ar plasmas. A described model for metastable atoms shows that the ratio of the emissions Ar 811.5 nm / Ar 750.4 nm is similar to the contribution of metastable ionization in electron production (two-step ionization). Then, the influence of the metastable atoms in the transition triggering was identified, mainly at high pressures. Also, the measurements show that metastable atoms can be a source for the sustaining of the H mode in the hysteresis region. © 2006 The Electrochemical Society.41553562Czerwiec, T., Graves, D.B., (2004) J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys, 37, p. 2827Ostrikov, K.N., Xu, S., (2000) Journal of Applied Physics, 88, p. 2268Amorim, J., Maciel, H.S., Sudano, J.P., (1991) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 9, p. 362Cunge, G., (1999) Plasma Sources Sci. Technol, 8, p. 576Xu, S., (2001) Phys. Plasmas, 8, p. 2549Demidov, V.I., (2004) Plasma Sources Sci. Technol, 13, p. 600A. M. Daltrini et al., in Microelectronics Technology and Devices - SBMicro2005, C. Claeys, J. W. Swart, N. I. Morimoto and P. Verdonck, Editors, PV 05-8, p. 245, The Electrochemical Society Proceedings Series, Pennington, NJ (2005)Boffard, J.B., Lin, C.C., DeJoseph Jr, C.A., (2004) J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys, 37, pp. R143Chabert, P., (2003) Journal of Applied Physics, 94, p. 76Lieberman, M.A., Lichtenberg, A.J., (1994) Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, , Wiley Interscience, New Yor

Inductively Coupled Plasma Test Reactor Development And Plasma Measurements

In this work, the design of an inductively coupled plasma test reactor is presented. The reactor is constructed with the goals to allow development of high density plasma diagnostics (Langmuir probe and optical emission spectroscopy) and optimization of the main plasma parameters, with the main emphasis on the radial uniformity of the plasma. A Faraday shield was installed to reduce the capacitive coupling to the plasma, resulting in a considerable improvement of the plasma uniformity and Langmuir probe measurements accuracy.PV 2005-08226234Hopwood, J., (1992) Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 1, p. 109Lieberman, M.A., Lichtenberg, A.J., (1994) Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, p. 390. , Wiley Interscience, New YorkCollins, G.J., Shaw, D.M., (1999) RF Inductively Coupled Plasma from the Circuit Model Viewpoint, , http://www.engr.colostate.eduece/pages/courses/Collins/ee543/Chapter13/ Chapter13.pdfGodyak, V.A., (1999) Journal of Applied Physics, 85, p. 703Hutchinson, I.H., (1987) Principles of Plasma Diagnostics, p. 51. , Cambridge University Press, CambridgeStenzel, R.L., Plasma Physics Laboratory, p. 97. , http://www.physics.ucla.edu/plasma-exp/180E-7/LprobeAnalysis.htmlHopwood, J., (1993) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 11, p. 152Korstshagen, U., (1996) J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 29, p. 1224Cunge, G., (1999) Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 8, p. 576Korstshagen, U., Heil, B.G., (1999) IEEE Trans, on Plasma Sci., 27, p. 1297Seo, S.-H., (2000) Phys. Review E, 62, p. 715

Plasma Diagnostics In High Density Reactors

Langmuir electric probes and optical emission spectroscopy diagnostics were developed for applications in high density plasmas. These diagnostics were employed in two plasma sources: an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma and an RF driven inductively coupled plasma (ICP) plasma. Langmuir probes were tested using a number of probing dimensions, probe tip materials, circuits for probe bias and filters. Then, the results were compared with the optical spectroscopy measurements. With these diagnostics, analyses of various plasma processes were performed in both reactors. For example, it has been shown that species like NH radicals generated in gas phase can have critical impact on films deposited by ECR plasmas. In the ICP source, plasmas in atomic and molecular gases were shown to have different spatial distributions, likely due to nonlocal electron heating. The low-to-high density transitions in the ICP plasma were also studied. The role of metastables is shown to be significant in Ar plasmas, in contrast to plasmas with additions of molecular gases. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.87517617