A two-dimensional fluid model based on COMSOL Multiphysics is developed to investigate the modulation of static magnetic field on plasma homogeneity in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP)chamber. To generate a static m...A two-dimensional fluid model based on COMSOL Multiphysics is developed to investigate the modulation of static magnetic field on plasma homogeneity in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP)chamber. To generate a static magnetic field, direct current is applied to a circular coil located at the top of the chamber. By adjusting the magnetic field's configuration, which is done by altering the coil current and position, both the plasma uniformity and density can be significantly modulated. In the absence of the magnetic field, the plasma density exhibits an inhomogeneous distribution characterized by higher values at the plasma edge and lower values at the center. The introduction of a magnetic field generated by coils results in a significant increase in electron density near the coils. Furthermore, an increase in the sets of coils improves the uniformity of the plasma. By flexibly adjusting the positions of the coils and the applied current,a substantial enhancement in overall uniformity can be achieved. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using this method for achieving uniform plasma densities in industrial applications.展开更多
The self-excited second harmonic in radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma was significantly enhanced by adjusting the external variable capacitor.At a lower pressure of 3 Pa,the excitation of the second harmonic...The self-excited second harmonic in radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma was significantly enhanced by adjusting the external variable capacitor.At a lower pressure of 3 Pa,the excitation of the second harmonic caused an abnormal transition of the electron energy probability function,resulting in abrupt changes in the electron density and temperature.Such changes in the electron energy probability function as well as the electron density and temperature were not observed at the higher pressure of 16 Pa under similar harmonic changes.The phenomena are related to the influence of the second harmonic on stochastic heating,which is determined by both amplitude and the relative phase of the harmonics.The results suggest that the self-excited high-order harmonics must be considered in practical applications of lowpressure radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas.展开更多
The effect of a negative DC bias,|V_(dc)|,on the electrical parameters and discharge mode is investigated experimentally in a radiofrequency(RF)capacitively coupled Ar plasma operated at different RF voltage amplitude...The effect of a negative DC bias,|V_(dc)|,on the electrical parameters and discharge mode is investigated experimentally in a radiofrequency(RF)capacitively coupled Ar plasma operated at different RF voltage amplitudes and gas pressures.The electron density is measured using a hairpin probe and the spatio-temporal distribution of the electron-impact excitation rate is determined by phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy.The electrical parameters are obtained based on the waveforms of the electrode voltage and plasma current measured by a voltage probe and a current probe.It was found that at a low|V_(dc)|,i.e.inα-mode,the electron density and RF current decline with increasing|V_(dc)|;meanwhile,the plasma impedance becomes more capacitive due to a widened sheath.Therefore,RF power deposition is suppressed.When|V_(dc)|exceeds a certain value,the plasma changes toα–γhybrid mode(or the discharge becomes dominated by theγ-mode),manifesting a drastically growing electron density and a moderately increasing RF current.Meanwhile,the plasma impedance becomes more resistive,so RF power deposition is enhanced with|V_(dc)|.We also found that the electrical parameters show similar dependence on|V_(dc)|at different RF voltages,andα–γmode transition occurs at a lower|V_(dc)|at a higher RF voltage.By increasing the pressure,plasma impedance becomes more resistive,so RF power deposition and electron density are enhanced.In particular,theα–γmode transition tends to occur at a lower|V_(dc)|with increase in pressure.展开更多
Due to it being environmentally friendly, much attention has been paid to the dry plasma texturing technique serving as an alternative candidate for multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) surface texturing. In this paper,...Due to it being environmentally friendly, much attention has been paid to the dry plasma texturing technique serving as an alternative candidate for multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) surface texturing. In this paper, capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) driven by a dual frequency (DF) of 40.68 MHz and 13.56 MHz is first used for plasma texturing of mc-Si with SF6/O2 gas mixture. Using a hairpin resonant probe and optical emission techniques, DF-CCP characteristics and their influence on mc-silicon surface plasma texturing are investigated at different flow rate ratios, pressures, and radio-frequency (RF) input powers. Experimental results show that suitable plasma texturing of mc-silicon occurs only in a narrow range of plasma parameters, where electron density ne must be larger than 6.3 x 109 cm-3 and the spectral intensity ratio of the F atom to that of the O atom ([F]/[O]) in the plasma must be between 0.8 and 0.3. Out of this range, no cone-like structure is formed on the mc-silicon surface. In our experiments, the lowest reflectance of about 7.3% for mc-silicon surface texturing is obtained at an [F]/[O] of 0.5 and ne of 6.9 × 109 cm-3.展开更多
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) wer...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.展开更多
A one-dimensional fluid model is proposed to simulate the dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma for Ar discharges. The influences of the low frequency on the plasma density, electron temperature, sheath voltage d...A one-dimensional fluid model is proposed to simulate the dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma for Ar discharges. The influences of the low frequency on the plasma density, electron temperature, sheath voltage drop, and ion energy distribution at the powered electrode are investigated. The decoupling effect of the two radio-frequency sources on the plasma parameters, especially in the sheath region, is discussed in detail.展开更多
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 inves...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.展开更多
In general,as the radio frequency(RF)power increases in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP),the power transfer efficiency decreases because the resistance of the CCP decreases.In this work,a parallel resonance circuit ...In general,as the radio frequency(RF)power increases in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP),the power transfer efficiency decreases because the resistance of the CCP decreases.In this work,a parallel resonance circuit is applied to improve the power transfer efficiency at high RF power,and the effect of the parallel resonance on the electron energy distribution function(EEDF)is investigated in a 60 MHz CCP.The CCP consists of a power feed line,the electrodes,and plasma.The reactance of the CCP is positive at 60 MHz and acts like an inductive load.A vacuum variable capacitor(VVC)is connected in parallel with the inductive load,and then the parallel resonance between the VVC and the inductive load can be achieved.As the capacitance of the VVC approaches the parallel resonance condition,the equivalent resistance of the parallel circuit is considerably larger than that without the VVC,and the current flowing through the matching network is greatly reduced.Therefore,the power transfer efficiency of the discharge is improved from 76%,70%,and 68%to 81%,77%,and 76%at RF powers of 100 W,150 W,and 200 W,respectively.At parallel resonance conditions,the electron heating in bulk plasma is enhanced,which cannot be achieved without the VVC even at the higher RF powers.This enhancement of electron heating results in the evolution of the shape of the EEDF from a biMaxwellian distribution to a distribution with the smaller temperature difference between high-energy electrons and low-energy electrons.Due to the parallel resonance effect,the electron density increases by approximately 4%,18%,and 21%at RF powers of 100 W,150 W,and 200 W,respectively.展开更多
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared with CH4-Ar using a capacitively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CCP-CVD) method driven by dual-frequency of 41 MHz and 13.56 MHz in combination. Du...Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared with CH4-Ar using a capacitively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CCP-CVD) method driven by dual-frequency of 41 MHz and 13.56 MHz in combination. Due to a coupling via bulk plasma, the self-bias voltage depended not only on the radiofrequency (RF) power of the corresponding electrode but also on another RF power of the counter electrode. The influence of the discharge parameters on the deposition rate, optical and Raman properties of the deposited films was investigated. The optical band decreased basically with the increase in the input power of both the low frequency and high frequency. Raman measurements show that the deposited films have a maximal sp3 content with an applied negative self-bias voltage of -150 V, while high frequency power causes a continuous increase in the sp3 content. The measurement of atomic force microscope (AFM) shows that the surface of the deposited films under ion-bombardment becomes smoother than those with non-intended self-bias voltage.展开更多
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...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.展开更多
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 floa...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.展开更多
Radio frequency capacitively coupled plasmas(RF CCPs)play a pivotal role in various applications in etching and deposition processes on a microscopic scale in semiconductor manufacturing.In the discharge process,the p...Radio frequency capacitively coupled plasmas(RF CCPs)play a pivotal role in various applications in etching and deposition processes on a microscopic scale in semiconductor manufacturing.In the discharge process,the plasma series resonance(PSR)effect is easily observed in electrically asymmetric and geometrically asymmetric discharges,which could largely influence the power absorption,ionization rate,etc.In this work,the PSR effect arising from geometrically and electrically asymmetric discharge in argon-oxygen mixture gas is mainly investigated by using a plasma equivalent circuit model coupled with a global model.At relatively low pressures,as Ar content(α)increases,the inductance of the bulk is weakened,which leads to a more obvious PSR phenomenon and a higher resonance frequency(ω_(psr)).When the Ar content is fixed,varying the pressure and gap distance could also have different effects on the PSR effect.With the increase of the pressure,the PSR frequency shifts towards the higher order,but in the case of much higher pressure,the PSR oscillation would be strongly damped by frequent electron-neutral collisions.With the increase of the gap distance,the PSR frequency becomes lower.In addition,electrically asymmetric waveforms applied to a geometrically asymmetric chamber may weaken or enhance the asymmetry of the discharge and regulate the PSR effect.In this work,the Ar/O_(2) electronegative mixture gas is introduced in a capacitive discharge to study the PSR effect under geometric asymmetry effect and electrical asymmetry effect,which can provide necessary guidance in laboratory research and current applications.展开更多
Although some progress in plasma modification of the polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) surface has been made recently,its adhesion strength still needs to be further improved.In this work,the surface of a PTFE sample was ...Although some progress in plasma modification of the polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) surface has been made recently,its adhesion strength still needs to be further improved.In this work,the surface of a PTFE sample was treated with a two-step in-situ method.Firstly,the PTFE surface was treated with capacitively coupled Ar plasma to improve its mechanical interlocking performance;then,Ar+NH_(3)+CH_(4) plasma was used to deposit an a-CNx:H cross-linking layer on the PTFE surface to improve the molecular bonding ability.After treatment,a high specific surface area of 2.20 and a low F/C ratio of 0.32 were achieved on the PTFE surface.Its surface free energy was increased significantly and its maximum adhesion strength reached77.1 N·10 mm^(-1),which is 56% higher than that of the single-step Ar plasma-treated sample and32% higher than that of the single-step Ar+CH_(4)+NH_(3) plasma-treated sample.展开更多
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 ...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.展开更多
Local measurement of plasma radial uniformity was performed in a dual frequency capacitively coupled argon plasma (DF-CCP) reactor using an optical probe. The optical probe collects the light emission from a small s...Local measurement of plasma radial uniformity was performed in a dual frequency capacitively coupled argon plasma (DF-CCP) reactor using an optical probe. The optical probe collects the light emission from a small separate volume in plasma, thus enabling to diagnose the plasma uniformity for different experimental parameters. Both the gas pressure and the low- frequency (LF) power have apparent effects on the radial uniformity of argon plasma. With the increase in either pressure or LF power, the emission profiles changed from a bell-shaped to a double-peak distribution. The influence of a fused-silica ring around the electrodes on the plasma uniformity was also studied using the optical probe. Possible reasons that result in nonuniform plasmas in our experiments are discussed.展开更多
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,a...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.展开更多
The flashover performance of insulating materials plays an important role in the development of high-voltage insulation systems.In this paper,silicone rubber(SIR)is modified by CF4 radio frequency capacitively coupled...The flashover performance of insulating materials plays an important role in the development of high-voltage insulation systems.In this paper,silicone rubber(SIR)is modified by CF4 radio frequency capacitively coupled plasma(CCP)for the improvement of surface insulation performance.The discharge mode and active particles of CCP are diagnosed by the digital single-lens reflex and the spectrometer.Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used for the surface physicochemical properties of samples,while the surface charge dissipation,charge accumulation measurement,and flashover test are applied for the surface electrical characteristics.Experimental results show that the fluorocarbon groups can be grafted and the surface roughness increases after plasma treatment.Besides,the surface charge dissipation is decelerated and the positive charge accumulation is inhibited obviously for the treated samples.Furthermore,the surface flashover voltage can be increased by 26.67%after 10 min of treatment.It is considered that strong electron affinity of C–F and increased surface roughness can contribute to deepening surface traps,which not only inhibits the development of secondary electron emission avalanche but also alleviates the surface charge accumulation and finally improves the surface flashover voltage of SIR.展开更多
The discharge characteristics of capacitively coupled argon plasmas driven by very high frequency discharge are studied.The mean electron temperature and electron density are calculated by using the Ar spectral lines ...The discharge characteristics of capacitively coupled argon plasmas driven by very high frequency discharge are studied.The mean electron temperature and electron density are calculated by using the Ar spectral lines at different values of power(20 W-70 W)and four different frequencies(13.56 MHz,40.68 MHz,94.92 MHz,and 100 MHz).The mean electron temperature decreases with the increase of power at a fixed frequency.The mean electron temperature varies non-linearly with frequency increasing at constant power.At 40.68 MHz,the mean electron temperature is the largest.The electron density increases with the increase of power at a fixed frequency.In the cases of driving frequencies of 94.92 MHz and 100 MHz,the obtained electron temperatures are almost the same,so are the electron densities.Particle-in-cell/Monte-Carlo collision(PIC/MCC)method developed within the Vsim 8.0 simulation package is used to simulate the electron density,the potential distribution,and the electron energy probability function(EEPF)under the experimental condition.The sheath width increases with the power increasing.The EEPF of 13.56 MHz and 40.68 MHz are both bi-Maxwellian with a large population of low-energy electrons.The EEPF of 94.92 MHz and 100 MHz are almost the same and both are nearly Maxwellian.展开更多
A novel technique to generate high-density plasma-called inductively coupled plasma (ICP), enhanced capacitively coupled plasma (CCP)- is successfully developed. The plasma can be generated using different frequen...A novel technique to generate high-density plasma-called inductively coupled plasma (ICP), enhanced capacitively coupled plasma (CCP)- is successfully developed. The plasma can be generated using different frequency configurations, such as ICP-enhanced single-frequency ca- pacitively coupled plasma (SFCCP) and dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma (DFCCP). The characteristics of the plasma in the following frequency combinations are mainly investigated using a Langmuir probe, SFCCP (60 MHz), DFCCP (60 MHz, 13.56 MHz), SFCCP (60 MHz) and inductively coupled plasma (13.56 MHz), DFCCP (60 MHz, 13.56 MHz) and inductively coupled plasma (13.56 MHz). In this letter, the nitrogen and hydrogen mixture gas discharge charac- teristics of different configurations are studied. After the analysis, we can acquire the electron temperature and ion density. Then, the effect of inductively coupled discharge on SFCCP and DFCCP can be summarized. In our preliminary investigations, the main results can be given as follows. ICP can make the density of SFCCP increase and the distribution of the electron temper- ature in a radial direction more uniform. In addition, ICP not only can make the ion density of DFCCP increase, but also can improve the radial uniformity. F^rther experiments may be needed to clarify the mechanism.展开更多
A triple frequency capacitively coupled plasma (TF-CCP) has been considered to investigate the behavior of the sheath parameters. A self-consistent time-independent collisionless model has been developed. The sheath...A triple frequency capacitively coupled plasma (TF-CCP) has been considered to investigate the behavior of the sheath parameters. A self-consistent time-independent collisionless model has been developed. The sheath width and potential are calculated using the present model and compared with those calculated using a single-frequency (SF), a dual-frequency (DF) and a triple-frequency (TF) model for time independent collisionless cases. The sheath motion and sheath potential are found to be larger compared with those of SF and DF CCPs for an inhomogeneous sheath, and that of TF CCP for a homogeneous sheath. The effects of the source parameters, i.e., current magnitudes, frequencies and phase difference, on the sheath parameters are investigated. The sheath parameters show higher values at higher source currents whereas they decrease with the increase of excitation frequencies. It has also been found that, by the proper choice of source frequencies and phase differences, it is possible to adjust the energy of ions when they hit the electrode.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National MCF Energy R&D Program of China(No.2022YFE03190100)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11935005,12105035 and U21A20438)+2 种基金the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(No.2021B1515120018)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.DUT21TD104)the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory of BICE and Beijing Engineering Research Center of Efficient and Green Aerospace Propulsion Technology(No.Lab ASP-2020-01).
文摘A two-dimensional fluid model based on COMSOL Multiphysics is developed to investigate the modulation of static magnetic field on plasma homogeneity in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP)chamber. To generate a static magnetic field, direct current is applied to a circular coil located at the top of the chamber. By adjusting the magnetic field's configuration, which is done by altering the coil current and position, both the plasma uniformity and density can be significantly modulated. In the absence of the magnetic field, the plasma density exhibits an inhomogeneous distribution characterized by higher values at the plasma edge and lower values at the center. The introduction of a magnetic field generated by coils results in a significant increase in electron density near the coils. Furthermore, an increase in the sets of coils improves the uniformity of the plasma. By flexibly adjusting the positions of the coils and the applied current,a substantial enhancement in overall uniformity can be achieved. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using this method for achieving uniform plasma densities in industrial applications.
文摘The self-excited second harmonic in radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma was significantly enhanced by adjusting the external variable capacitor.At a lower pressure of 3 Pa,the excitation of the second harmonic caused an abnormal transition of the electron energy probability function,resulting in abrupt changes in the electron density and temperature.Such changes in the electron energy probability function as well as the electron density and temperature were not observed at the higher pressure of 16 Pa under similar harmonic changes.The phenomena are related to the influence of the second harmonic on stochastic heating,which is determined by both amplitude and the relative phase of the harmonics.The results suggest that the self-excited high-order harmonics must be considered in practical applications of lowpressure radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas.
基金financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Nos.12275043 and 11935005)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.DUT21TD104)China Scholarship Council(No.202106060085)。
文摘The effect of a negative DC bias,|V_(dc)|,on the electrical parameters and discharge mode is investigated experimentally in a radiofrequency(RF)capacitively coupled Ar plasma operated at different RF voltage amplitudes and gas pressures.The electron density is measured using a hairpin probe and the spatio-temporal distribution of the electron-impact excitation rate is determined by phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy.The electrical parameters are obtained based on the waveforms of the electrode voltage and plasma current measured by a voltage probe and a current probe.It was found that at a low|V_(dc)|,i.e.inα-mode,the electron density and RF current decline with increasing|V_(dc)|;meanwhile,the plasma impedance becomes more capacitive due to a widened sheath.Therefore,RF power deposition is suppressed.When|V_(dc)|exceeds a certain value,the plasma changes toα–γhybrid mode(or the discharge becomes dominated by theγ-mode),manifesting a drastically growing electron density and a moderately increasing RF current.Meanwhile,the plasma impedance becomes more resistive,so RF power deposition is enhanced with|V_(dc)|.We also found that the electrical parameters show similar dependence on|V_(dc)|at different RF voltages,andα–γmode transition occurs at a lower|V_(dc)|at a higher RF voltage.By increasing the pressure,plasma impedance becomes more resistive,so RF power deposition and electron density are enhanced.In particular,theα–γmode transition tends to occur at a lower|V_(dc)|with increase in pressure.
基金supported by the Prospective Project of Industry–University–Research Institution of Jiangsu Province,China(Grant No.BY2010125)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11175127)
文摘Due to it being environmentally friendly, much attention has been paid to the dry plasma texturing technique serving as an alternative candidate for multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) surface texturing. In this paper, capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) driven by a dual frequency (DF) of 40.68 MHz and 13.56 MHz is first used for plasma texturing of mc-Si with SF6/O2 gas mixture. Using a hairpin resonant probe and optical emission techniques, DF-CCP characteristics and their influence on mc-silicon surface plasma texturing are investigated at different flow rate ratios, pressures, and radio-frequency (RF) input powers. Experimental results show that suitable plasma texturing of mc-silicon occurs only in a narrow range of plasma parameters, where electron density ne must be larger than 6.3 x 109 cm-3 and the spectral intensity ratio of the F atom to that of the O atom ([F]/[O]) in the plasma must be between 0.8 and 0.3. Out of this range, no cone-like structure is formed on the mc-silicon surface. In our experiments, the lowest reflectance of about 7.3% for mc-silicon surface texturing is obtained at an [F]/[O] of 0.5 and ne of 6.9 × 109 cm-3.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 10975105, 11275136, 10975106, 11175126, 11204266 and 11075114) the National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Program of China (Nos. 2010GB106000, 2010GB106009), the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Information and Qing Lan Project, a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions and the Program for graduates Research & Innovation in University of Jiangsu Province, China (No. CX10B-031Z)
文摘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.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.10635010)
文摘A one-dimensional fluid model is proposed to simulate the dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma for Ar discharges. The influences of the low frequency on the plasma density, electron temperature, sheath voltage drop, and ion energy distribution at the powered electrode are investigated. The decoupling effect of the two radio-frequency sources on the plasma parameters, especially in the sheath region, is discussed in detail.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 10635010, 10775103)
文摘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.
基金supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(Nos.NRF-2019M1A7A1A03087579 and NRF-2021R1I1A1A01050312)the Ministry of Trade,Industry&Energy(Nos.20011226 and 20009415)。
文摘In general,as the radio frequency(RF)power increases in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP),the power transfer efficiency decreases because the resistance of the CCP decreases.In this work,a parallel resonance circuit is applied to improve the power transfer efficiency at high RF power,and the effect of the parallel resonance on the electron energy distribution function(EEDF)is investigated in a 60 MHz CCP.The CCP consists of a power feed line,the electrodes,and plasma.The reactance of the CCP is positive at 60 MHz and acts like an inductive load.A vacuum variable capacitor(VVC)is connected in parallel with the inductive load,and then the parallel resonance between the VVC and the inductive load can be achieved.As the capacitance of the VVC approaches the parallel resonance condition,the equivalent resistance of the parallel circuit is considerably larger than that without the VVC,and the current flowing through the matching network is greatly reduced.Therefore,the power transfer efficiency of the discharge is improved from 76%,70%,and 68%to 81%,77%,and 76%at RF powers of 100 W,150 W,and 200 W,respectively.At parallel resonance conditions,the electron heating in bulk plasma is enhanced,which cannot be achieved without the VVC even at the higher RF powers.This enhancement of electron heating results in the evolution of the shape of the EEDF from a biMaxwellian distribution to a distribution with the smaller temperature difference between high-energy electrons and low-energy electrons.Due to the parallel resonance effect,the electron density increases by approximately 4%,18%,and 21%at RF powers of 100 W,150 W,and 200 W,respectively.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 10775103)
文摘Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared with CH4-Ar using a capacitively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CCP-CVD) method driven by dual-frequency of 41 MHz and 13.56 MHz in combination. Due to a coupling via bulk plasma, the self-bias voltage depended not only on the radiofrequency (RF) power of the corresponding electrode but also on another RF power of the counter electrode. The influence of the discharge parameters on the deposition rate, optical and Raman properties of the deposited films was investigated. The optical band decreased basically with the increase in the input power of both the low frequency and high frequency. Raman measurements show that the deposited films have a maximal sp3 content with an applied negative self-bias voltage of -150 V, while high frequency power causes a continuous increase in the sp3 content. The measurement of atomic force microscope (AFM) shows that the surface of the deposited films under ion-bombardment becomes smoother than those with non-intended self-bias voltage.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.10975029)the Important National Science and Technology Specific Project of China(No.2011ZX02403-001)
文摘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.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.10635010, 10775103)
文摘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.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.12020101005 and 11975067)。
文摘Radio frequency capacitively coupled plasmas(RF CCPs)play a pivotal role in various applications in etching and deposition processes on a microscopic scale in semiconductor manufacturing.In the discharge process,the plasma series resonance(PSR)effect is easily observed in electrically asymmetric and geometrically asymmetric discharges,which could largely influence the power absorption,ionization rate,etc.In this work,the PSR effect arising from geometrically and electrically asymmetric discharge in argon-oxygen mixture gas is mainly investigated by using a plasma equivalent circuit model coupled with a global model.At relatively low pressures,as Ar content(α)increases,the inductance of the bulk is weakened,which leads to a more obvious PSR phenomenon and a higher resonance frequency(ω_(psr)).When the Ar content is fixed,varying the pressure and gap distance could also have different effects on the PSR effect.With the increase of the pressure,the PSR frequency shifts towards the higher order,but in the case of much higher pressure,the PSR oscillation would be strongly damped by frequent electron-neutral collisions.With the increase of the gap distance,the PSR frequency becomes lower.In addition,electrically asymmetric waveforms applied to a geometrically asymmetric chamber may weaken or enhance the asymmetry of the discharge and regulate the PSR effect.In this work,the Ar/O_(2) electronegative mixture gas is introduced in a capacitive discharge to study the PSR effect under geometric asymmetry effect and electrical asymmetry effect,which can provide necessary guidance in laboratory research and current applications.
文摘Although some progress in plasma modification of the polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) surface has been made recently,its adhesion strength still needs to be further improved.In this work,the surface of a PTFE sample was treated with a two-step in-situ method.Firstly,the PTFE surface was treated with capacitively coupled Ar plasma to improve its mechanical interlocking performance;then,Ar+NH_(3)+CH_(4) plasma was used to deposit an a-CNx:H cross-linking layer on the PTFE surface to improve the molecular bonding ability.After treatment,a high specific surface area of 2.20 and a low F/C ratio of 0.32 were achieved on the PTFE surface.Its surface free energy was increased significantly and its maximum adhesion strength reached77.1 N·10 mm^(-1),which is 56% higher than that of the single-step Ar plasma-treated sample and32% higher than that of the single-step Ar+CH_(4)+NH_(3) plasma-treated sample.
基金supported by ITER Project (Nos. 2010GB106000,2010GB106009) National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 10975106, 11175126, 11075114, 11204266)+1 种基金 Qing Lan Project, the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions The Program for Graduates Research &: Innovation in University of Jiangsu Province, China (No. CXZZ 11-0085)
文摘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.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 10635010, 10975029)Beijing Key Laboratory of Printing & Packaging Materials and Technology of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication of China (No. KF201004)
文摘Local measurement of plasma radial uniformity was performed in a dual frequency capacitively coupled argon plasma (DF-CCP) reactor using an optical probe. The optical probe collects the light emission from a small separate volume in plasma, thus enabling to diagnose the plasma uniformity for different experimental parameters. Both the gas pressure and the low- frequency (LF) power have apparent effects on the radial uniformity of argon plasma. With the increase in either pressure or LF power, the emission profiles changed from a bell-shaped to a double-peak distribution. The influence of a fused-silica ring around the electrodes on the plasma uniformity was also studied using the optical probe. Possible reasons that result in nonuniform plasmas in our experiments are discussed.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.10635010)the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China(No.20090041110026)
文摘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.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11775175,U1766218,51827809)Natural Science Research Fund of Higher Education of Anhui Province(No.KJ2020A0246)。
文摘The flashover performance of insulating materials plays an important role in the development of high-voltage insulation systems.In this paper,silicone rubber(SIR)is modified by CF4 radio frequency capacitively coupled plasma(CCP)for the improvement of surface insulation performance.The discharge mode and active particles of CCP are diagnosed by the digital single-lens reflex and the spectrometer.Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used for the surface physicochemical properties of samples,while the surface charge dissipation,charge accumulation measurement,and flashover test are applied for the surface electrical characteristics.Experimental results show that the fluorocarbon groups can be grafted and the surface roughness increases after plasma treatment.Besides,the surface charge dissipation is decelerated and the positive charge accumulation is inhibited obviously for the treated samples.Furthermore,the surface flashover voltage can be increased by 26.67%after 10 min of treatment.It is considered that strong electron affinity of C–F and increased surface roughness can contribute to deepening surface traps,which not only inhibits the development of secondary electron emission avalanche but also alleviates the surface charge accumulation and finally improves the surface flashover voltage of SIR.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11665021)the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province,China(Grant No.20JR10RA078).
文摘The discharge characteristics of capacitively coupled argon plasmas driven by very high frequency discharge are studied.The mean electron temperature and electron density are calculated by using the Ar spectral lines at different values of power(20 W-70 W)and four different frequencies(13.56 MHz,40.68 MHz,94.92 MHz,and 100 MHz).The mean electron temperature decreases with the increase of power at a fixed frequency.The mean electron temperature varies non-linearly with frequency increasing at constant power.At 40.68 MHz,the mean electron temperature is the largest.The electron density increases with the increase of power at a fixed frequency.In the cases of driving frequencies of 94.92 MHz and 100 MHz,the obtained electron temperatures are almost the same,so are the electron densities.Particle-in-cell/Monte-Carlo collision(PIC/MCC)method developed within the Vsim 8.0 simulation package is used to simulate the electron density,the potential distribution,and the electron energy probability function(EEPF)under the experimental condition.The sheath width increases with the power increasing.The EEPF of 13.56 MHz and 40.68 MHz are both bi-Maxwellian with a large population of low-energy electrons.The EEPF of 94.92 MHz and 100 MHz are almost the same and both are nearly Maxwellian.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11075114,10975106)the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China
文摘A novel technique to generate high-density plasma-called inductively coupled plasma (ICP), enhanced capacitively coupled plasma (CCP)- is successfully developed. The plasma can be generated using different frequency configurations, such as ICP-enhanced single-frequency ca- pacitively coupled plasma (SFCCP) and dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma (DFCCP). The characteristics of the plasma in the following frequency combinations are mainly investigated using a Langmuir probe, SFCCP (60 MHz), DFCCP (60 MHz, 13.56 MHz), SFCCP (60 MHz) and inductively coupled plasma (13.56 MHz), DFCCP (60 MHz, 13.56 MHz) and inductively coupled plasma (13.56 MHz). In this letter, the nitrogen and hydrogen mixture gas discharge charac- teristics of different configurations are studied. After the analysis, we can acquire the electron temperature and ion density. Then, the effect of inductively coupled discharge on SFCCP and DFCCP can be summarized. In our preliminary investigations, the main results can be given as follows. ICP can make the density of SFCCP increase and the distribution of the electron temper- ature in a radial direction more uniform. In addition, ICP not only can make the ion density of DFCCP increase, but also can improve the radial uniformity. F^rther experiments may be needed to clarify the mechanism.
文摘A triple frequency capacitively coupled plasma (TF-CCP) has been considered to investigate the behavior of the sheath parameters. A self-consistent time-independent collisionless model has been developed. The sheath width and potential are calculated using the present model and compared with those calculated using a single-frequency (SF), a dual-frequency (DF) and a triple-frequency (TF) model for time independent collisionless cases. The sheath motion and sheath potential are found to be larger compared with those of SF and DF CCPs for an inhomogeneous sheath, and that of TF CCP for a homogeneous sheath. The effects of the source parameters, i.e., current magnitudes, frequencies and phase difference, on the sheath parameters are investigated. The sheath parameters show higher values at higher source currents whereas they decrease with the increase of excitation frequencies. It has also been found that, by the proper choice of source frequencies and phase differences, it is possible to adjust the energy of ions when they hit the electrode.