Experimental Characterization of Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled Plasma with Inductive Enhancement in Argon

The dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma （DF-CCP） with inductive enhancement system is a newly designed plasma reactor. Different from the conventional inductively coupled plasma （ICP） reactors, now a radio frequency （rf） power is connected to an antenna placed outside the chamber with a one-turn bare coil placed between two electrodes in DF-CCP. This paper gives a detailed description of its structure of discharges in this apparatus were made via a Moreover, investigations on some characteristics Langmuir probe.

Analytical Expressions of Dual-Frequency Plasma Diagnostic Theory

Based on the fundamental ideas concerning microwave attenuation in plasma, we obtain a new expression of transmission attenuation of microwaves as a function of the incident wave frequency. And with reasonable hypothesis, analytical forms of the electron density and the electron-neutral collision frequency are derived from the equations of the transmission attenuation of microwaves at two near frequencies. This method gives an effective and easy approach to diagnose the unmagnetized plasma.

Improved Double-Probe Technique for Spatially Resolved Diagnosis of Dual-Frequency Capacitive Plasmas

The conventional double-probe technique was improved with a combination of selfpowering and radio-frequency（RF） choking.RF perturbations in dual-frequency capacitively coupled discharge were effectively eliminated,as judged by the disappearance of self-bias on the probes.The improved technique was tested by spatially resolved measurements of the electron temperature and ion density in both the axial and radial directions of a dual-frequency capacitive plasma.The measured data in the axial direction were compared with simulation results,and they were excellently consistent with each other.The measured radial distributions of the ion density and electron temperature were influenced significantly by the lower frequency（LF） power.It was shown that superposition of the lower frequency to the higher frequency（HF） power shifted the maximum ion density from the radial center to the edge region,while the trend for the electron temperature profile was the opposite.The changing feature of the ion density distribution is qualitatively consistent with that of the optical emission intensity reported.

Effect of Low-Frequency Power on Etching Characteristics of 6H-SiC in C4F8/Ar Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled Plasma

Dry etching of 6H silicon carbide （6H-SiC） wafers in a C4Fs/Ar dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma （DF-CCP） was investigated. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were used to measure the SiC surface structure and compositions, respectively. Optical emission spectroscopy （OES） was used to measure the relative concentration of F radicals in the plasma. It was found that the roughness of the etched SiC surface and the etching rate are directly related to the power of low-frequency （LF） source. At lower LF power, a smaller surface roughness and a lower etching rate are obtained due to weak bombardment of low energy ions on the SiC wafers. At higher LF power the etching rate can be efficiently increased, but the surface roughness increases too. Compared with other plasma dry etching methods, the DF-CCP can effectively inhibit CχFγ films＇ deposition, and reduce surface residues.

Effect of Low-frequency Power on F, CF_2 Relative Density and F/CF_2 Ratio in Fluorocarbon Dual-Frequency Plasmas

Effect of low-frequency power on F, CF2 relative density and F/CF2 ratio, in C2F6, C4F8 and CHF3 dual-frequency capacitively couple discharge driven by the power of 13.56 MHz/2 MHz, was investigated by using optical emission spectroscopy. High F, CF2 relative density and high F/CF2 ratio were obtained in a CHF3 plasma. But for C2F6 and C4Fs plasmas, the F, CF2 relative density and F/CF2 ratio all decreased significantly due to the difference in both reactive paths and reactive energy. The increase of LF power caused simultaneous increase of F and CF2 radical relative densities in C4Fs and CHF3 plasmas, but led to increase of F with the decrease in CF2 relative densities in C2F6 plasma due to the increase of lower energy electrons and the decrease of higher energy electrons in electron energy distribution function （EEDF）.

Investigation of Capacitively Coupled Argon Plasma Driven by Dual-Frequency with Different Frequency Configurations

Low pressure argon dual-frequency （DF） capacitively coupled plasma （CCP） is generated by using different frequency configurations, such as 13.56/2, 27/2, 41/2, and 60/2 MHz. Characteristics of the plasma are investigated by using a floating double electrical probe and optical emission spectroscopy （OES）. It is shown that in the DF-CCPs, the electron temperature Te decreases with the increase in exciting frequency, while the onset of 2 MHz induces a sudden increase in Te and the electron density increases basically with the increase in low frequency （LF） power. The intensity of 750.4 nm emission line increases with the LF power in the case of 13.56/2 MHz, while different tendencies of line intensity with the LF power appear for other configurations. The reason for this is also discussed.

C_2F_6 /O_2 /Ar Plasma Chemistry of 60 MHz/2 MHz Dual-Frequency Discharge and Its Effect on Etching of SiCOH Low-k Film

This work investigated C2F6/O2/Ar plasma chemistry and its effect on the etching characteristics of SiCOH low-k dielectrics in 60 MHz/2 MHz dual-frequency capacitively coupled discharge. For the C2F6/Ar plasma, the increase in the low-frequency （LF） power led to an increased ion impact, prompting the dissociation of C2F6 with higher reaction energy. As a result, fluorocarbon radicals with a high F/C ratio decreased. The increase in the discharge pressure led to a decrease in the electron temperature, resulting in the decrease of C2F6 dissociation. For the C2F6/O2/Ar plasma, the increase in the LF power prompted the reaction between 02 and C2F6, resulting in the elimination of CF3 and CF2 radicals, and the production of an F-rich plasma environment. The F-rich plasma improved the etching characteristics of SiCOH low-k films, leading to a high etching rate and a smooth etched surface.

Deposition of Polymer Thin Film Using an Atmospheric Pressure Micro-Plasma Driven by Dual-Frequency Excitation

Polymer thin film deposition using an atmospheric pressure micro-plasma jet driven by dual-frequency excitations is described in this paper. The discharge process was operated with a mixture of argon （6 slm） and a small amount of acetone （0-2100 ppm）. Plasma composition was measured by optical emission spectroscopy （OES）. In addition to a large number of Ar spectra lines, we observed some spectra of C, CN, CH and C2. Through changing acetone content mixed in argon, we found that the optimum discharge condition for deposition can be characterized by the maximum concentration of carbonaceous species. The deposited film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy. The XPS indicated that the film was mostly composed of C with trace amount of O and N elements. The FTIR suggested different carbon-containing bonds （-CHx, C=O, C=C, C-O-C） presented in the deposited film.

Abnormal Enhancement of N_2^+ Emission Induced by Lower Frequency in N_2 Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled Plasmas

Nitrogen dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas （DF-CCPs） with different fre- quency configurations, i.e., 60/2 MHz and 60/13.56 MHz, are investigated by means of opticM emission spectroscopy （OES） and a floating double probe. The excited nitrogen molecule ion N＋（B） is monitored by measuring the emission intensity of the （0,0） bandhead of the first neg- ative system （FNS） at 391.44 nm. It is shown that in the discharge with 60/13.56 MHz, the N＋ emission intensity decreases with the increase in pressure. In the discharge with 60/2 MHz, however, an abnormal enhancement of N＋ emission at higher pressure is observed when a higher power of 2 MHz is added. Variation in the ion density shows a similar dependence on the gas pressure. This indicates that in the discharge with 60/2 MHz there is a mode transition from the alpha to gamma type when a higher power of 2 MHz is added at high pressures. Combining the measurements using OES and double probe, the influence of low frequency on the discharge is investigated and the excitation route of the N＋（B） state in the discharge of 60/2 MHz is also discussed.

Determination of Plasma Parameters in a Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled CF_4 Plasma Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy

Optical emission spectroscopy measurements of dual-frequency capacitively coupled CF4 plasmas were carried out. The gas temperature （Tg） was acquired by fitting the optical emission spectra of a CF B-X system in 201～206 nm. The atomic fluorine concentration and the electron temperature （Te） were obtained by trace rare gas optical emission spectroscopy and a modified Boltzmann plot technique, respectively. It was found that the gas temperature was about 620±30 K at 50 mTorr and the atomic fluorine concentration increased while the electron temperature decreased with increasing gas pressure and power of high frequency （60 MHz）. With increasing low frequency （2 MHz） power, the electron temperature also increased, but the atomic fluorine concentration was insensitive to this change. The generation and disappearance mecha- nisms of F atoms are discussed.

Design and preliminary test of a 105/140 GHz dual-frequency MW-level gyrotron

A dual-frequency(105/140 GHz)MW-level continuous-wave gyrotron was developed for fusion application at Institute of Applied Electronics,China Academy of Engineering Physics.This gyrotron employs a cylindrical cavity working in the TE18,7 mode at 105 GHz and the TE24,9 mode at 140 GHz.A triode magnetron injection gun and a built-in quasi-optical mode converter were designed to operate at these two frequencies.For the proof-test phase,the gyrotron was equipped with a single-disk boron nitride window to achieve radio frequency output with a power of~500 k W for a short-pulse duration.In the preliminary short-pulse proof-test in the first quarter of2021,the dual-frequency gyrotron achieved output powers of 300 k W at 105 GHz and 540 k W at140 GHz,respectively,under 5 Hz 1 ms continuous pulse-burst operations.Power upgrade and pulse-width extension were hampered by the limitation of the high-voltage power supply and output window.This gyrotron design was preliminarily validated.

Effect of radio frequency bias on plasma characteristics of inductively coupled argon discharge based on fluid simulations

t A fluid model is employed to investigate the effect of radio frequency bias on the behavior of an argon inductively coupled plasma(ICP).In particular,the effects of ICP source power,single-frequency bias power,and dual-frequency bias power on the characteristics of ICP are simulated at a fixed pressure of 30 mTorr(1 Torr=1.33322×102 Pa).When the bias frequency is fixed at 27.12 MHz,the two-dimensional(2D)plasma density profile is significantly affected by the bias power at low ICP source power(e.g.,50 W),whereas it is weakly affected by the bias power at higher ICP source power(e.g.,100 W).When dual-frequency(27.12 MHz/2.26 MHz)bias is applied and the sum of bias powers is fixed at 500 W,a pronounced increase in the maximum argon ion density is observed with the increase of the bias power ratio in the absence of ICP source power.As the ratio of 27.12-MHz/2.26-MHz bias power decreases from 500 W/0 W to 0 W/500 W with the ICP source power fixed at 50 W,the plasma density profiles smoothly shifts from edge-high to center-high,and the effect of bias power on the plasma distribution becomes weaker with the bias power ratio decreasing.Besides,the axial ion flux at the substrate surface is characterized by a maximum at the edge of the substrate.When the ICP source power is higher,the 2D plasma density profiles,as well as the spatiotemporal and radial distributions of ion flux at the substrate surface are characterized by a peak in the reactor center,and the distributions of plasma parameters are negligibly affected by the dual-frequency bias power ratio.

Optical Spectroscopic Investigation of Ar/CH_3OH and Ar/N_2/CH_3OH Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets

Ar/CH3OH and Ar/N2/CH3OH plasma jets were generated at atmospheric pressure by dual-frequency excitations. Two different cases were studied with focus laid on the generation of CN radicals. In one case Ar gas passed through a bubbler with saturated methanol steam but without addition of N2 （Ar/CH3OH plasma）. In the other case N2 passed through the bubbler with saturated methanol steam （Ar/N2/CH3OH plasma）. The optical emission lines of CN radicals have been observed in these two cases of plasma discharges. The addition of N2 can significantly increase the optical emission intensity of CN bands.