High and low frequency relaxation oscillations in a capacitive discharge plasma

Both high and low frequency relaxation oscillations have been observed in an argon capacitive discharge connected to a peripheral grounded chamber through a slot with dielectric spacers. The oscillations, observed from time-varying optical emission of the main discharge chamber, show, for example, a high frequency （46 kHz） relaxation oscillation at 100 mTorr, with an absorbed power near the peripheral breakdown, and a low frequency （2.7-3.7 Hz） oscillation, at a higher absorbed power. The high frequency oscillation is found to ignite a plasma in the slot, but usually not in the periphery. The high frequency oscillation is interpreted by using an electromagnetic model of the slot impedance, combined with the circuit analysis of the system including a matching network. The model is further developed by using a parallel connection of variable peripheral capacitance to analyse the low frequency oscillation. The results obtained from the model are in agreement with the experimental observations and indicate that a variety of behaviours are dependent on the matching conditions.

Effect of Discharge Parameters on Properties of Diamond-Like Carbon Films Prepared by Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled Plasma Source

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.

Effect of driving frequency on electron heating in capacitively coupled RF argon glow discharges at low pressure

A one-dimensional（1D） fluid model on capacitively coupled radio frequency（RF） argon glow discharge between parallel-plates electrodes at low pressure is established to test the effect of the driving frequency on electron heating. The model is solved numerically by a finite difference method. The numerical results show that the discharge process may be divided into three stages： the growing rapidly stage, the growing slowly stage, and the steady stage. In the steady stage,the maximal electron density increases as the driving frequency increases. The results show that the discharge region has three parts： the powered electrode sheath region, the bulk plasma region and the grounded electrode sheath region. In the growing rapidly stage（at 18 μs）, the results of the cycle-averaged electric field, electron temperature, electron density, and electric potentials for the driving frequencies of 3.39, 6.78, 13.56, and 27.12 MHz are compared, respectively. Furthermore,the results of cycle-averaged electron pressure cooling, electron ohmic heating, electron heating, and electron energy loss for the driving frequencies of 3.39, 6.78, 13.56, and 27.12 MHz are discussed, respectively. It is also found that the effect of the cycle-averaged electron pressure cooling on the electrons is to ＂cool＂ the electrons; the effect of the electron ohmic heating on the electrons is always to ＂heat＂ the electrons; the effect of the cycle-averaged electron ohmic heating on the electrons is stronger than the effect of the cycle-averaged electron pressure cooling on the electrons in the discharge region except in the regions near the electrodes. Therefore, the effect of the cycle-averaged electron heating on the electrons is to ＂heat＂ the electrons in the discharge region except in the regions near the electrodes. However, in the regions near the electrodes, the effect of the cycle-averaged electron heating on the electron is to ＂cool＂ the electrons. Finally, the space distributions of the electron pressure cooling the electron ohmic heating and the electron heating at 1/4 T, 2/4 T, 3/4 T, and 4/4 T in one RF-cycle are presented and compared.

Influence of dielectric materials on uniformity of large-area capacitively coupled plasmas for N_2/Ar discharges

The effect of the dielectric ring on the plasma radial uniformity is numerically investigated in the practical 450-mm capacitively coupled plasma reactor by a two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model. The simulations were performed for N2/Ar discharges at the pressure of 300 Pa, and the frequency of 13.56 MHz. In the practical plasma treatment process,the wafer is always surrounded by a dielectric ring, which is less studied. In this paper, the plasma characteristics are systematically investigated by changing the properties of the dielectric ring, i.e., the relative permittivity, the thickness and the length. The results indicate that the plasma parameters strongly depend on the properties of the dielectric ring. As the ratio of the thickness to the relative permittivity of the dielectric ring increases, the electric field at the wafer edge becomes weaker due to the stronger surface charging effect. This gives rise to the lower N~+ ion density, flux and N atom density at the wafer edge. Thus the homogeneous plasma density is obtained by selecting optimal dielectric ring relative permittivity and thickness. In addition, we also find that the length of the dielectric ring should be as short as possible to avoid the discontinuity of the dielectric materials, and thus obtain the large area uniform plasma.

Modeling of the nanoparticle coagulation in pulsed radio-frequency capacitively coupled C_2H_2 discharges

The role of pulse parameters on nanoparticle property is investigated self-consistently based on a couple of fluid model and aerosol dynamics model in a capacitively coupled parallel-plate acetylene（C2H2） discharge. In this model, the mass continuity equation, momentum balance equation, and energy balance equation for neutral gas are taken into account.Thus, the thermophoretic force arises when a gas temperature gradient exists. The typical results of this model are positive and negative ion densities, electron impact collisions rates, nanoparticle density, and charge distributions. The simulation is performed for duty ratio 0.4/0.7/1.0, as well as pulse modulation frequency from 40 kHz to 2.7 MHz for pure C2H2 discharges at a pressure of 500 mTorr. We find that the pulse parameters, especially the duty ratio, have a great affect on the dissociative attachment coefficient and the negative density. More importantly, by decreasing the duty ratio, nanoparticles start to diffuse to the wall. Under the action of gas flow, nanoparticle density peak is created in front of the pulse electrode,where the gas temperature is smaller.

Effect of Addition of Nitrogen to a Capacitively Radio-Frequency Hydrogen Discharge

A hybrid PIC/MC model is developed in this work for H2-xN2 capacitively coupled radio-frequency （CCRF） discharges in which we take into account 43 kinds of collisions reaction processes between charged particles （e-, H3＋, H＋, H＋, N＋, N＋） and ground-state molecules （H2, H＋ N2）. In addition, the mean energies and densities of electrons and ions （ 3, H＋, H＋）, and electric field distributions in the H2-N2 CCRF discharge are simulated by this model. Furthermore, the effects of addition of a variable percentage of nitrogen （0-30%） into the H2 discharge on the plasma processes and discharge characteristics are studied. It is shown that by increasing the percentage of nitrogen added to the system, the RF sheath thickness will narrow, the sheath electric field will be enhanced, and the mean energy of hydrogen ions impacting the electrodes will be increased. Because the electron impact ionization and dissociative ionization rates increase when N2 is added to the system, the electron mean density will increase while the electron mean energy and hydrogen ion density near the electrodes will decrease. This work aims to provide a theoretical basis for experimental studies and technological developments with regard to H2-N2 CCRF plasmas.

Review of relaxation oscillations in plasma processing discharges

Relaxation oscillations due to plasma instabilities at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz have been observed in various types of plasma processing discharges. Relaxation oscillations have been observed in electropositive capacitive discharges between a powered anode and a metallic chamber whose periphery is grounded through a slot with dielectric spacers. The oscillations of time-varying optical emission from the main discharge chamber show, for example, a high-frequency （- 40 kHz） relaxation oscillation at 13.33Pa, with an absorbed power being nearly the peripheral breakdown power, and a low-frequency （- 3 Hz） oscillation, with an even higher absorbed power. The high-frequency oscillation is found to ignite plasma in the slot, but usually not in the peripheral chamber. The kilohertz oscillations are modelled using an electromagnetic model of the slot impedance, coupled to a circuit analysis of the system including the matching network. The model results are in general agreement with the experimental observations, and indicate a variety of behaviours dependent on the matching conditions. In low-pressure inductive discharges, oscillations appear in the transition between low-density capacitively driven and high-density inductively driven discharges when attaching gases such as SF6 and Ar/SF6 mixtures are used. Oscillations of charged particles, plasma potential, and light, at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz, are seen for gas pressures between 0.133 Pa and 13.33 Pa and discharge powers in a range of 75 1200 W. The region of instability increases as the plasma becomes more electronegative, and the frequency of plasma oscillation increases as the power, pressure, and gas flow rate increase. A volume-averaged （global） model of the kilohertz instability has been developed; the results obtained from the model agree well with the experimental observations.

Spatial Evolution Study of EEDFs and Plasma Parameters in RF Stochastic Regime by Langmuir Probe

An RF compensated cylindrical Langmuir probe system has been developed and used to characterize an RF capacitive two temperature plasma discharge in a stochastic mode. The novelty of the work presented here is the use of the driven electrode （cathode） without ground shield. Measurements of the electron energy distribution function （EEDF） and plasma parameters were achieved under the following conditions： 50 W of RF power and 5× 10-2 mbar of argon pressure. The probe measurements are performed at 3 cm above the electrode and the probe was shifted radially （r direction） from the center （r = 0 cm） of the inter-electrodes region towards the chamber wall （R = 10.75 cm）. The results show that the EEDF is bi-Maxwellian and its shape remains the same through the scanned region. The farther the probe from the central region, the lower the EEDF maximum. The plasma density is observed to decrease according to a Gaussian profile along the radial direction and falls to 50% of its maximum when close to the cathode edge （r = 5.5 cm）. At the same time the effective electron temperature remains constant for r〈4 cm and increases for r≥4 cm. The high-temperature and low-temperature electrons＇ densities and temperatures are also discussed in the article.