Design of Large-Area Surface Wave Plasma Excited by Slotted Waveguide Antennas with Novel Power Divider

Magnet-free uniform sputtering of dielectric film by RF and microwave power superposition

“…Another possibility of using microwave power for sputtering is to produce plasma in a no-magnetic-field environment, i.e., to use a surface wave plasma (SWP) source. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] So far, we have developed various surface wave plasma sources that can produce uniform and high-density (10 17 -10 18 m −3 ) plasmas [25][26][27] and have applied the SWP to plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) [28][29][30] and surface treatment. [31][32][33] Furthermore, we have recently developed a new microwave antenna that can reduce the pressure required for SWP sustainment to less than 1 Pa. 34) Therefore, the improved SWP is suitable for the uniform, high-density and lowpressure plasma operation for the sputtering of insulating materials.…”

Low-pressure sustainment of surface-wave microwave plasma with modified microwave coupler

“…As a candidate to solve such an issue, a surface-wave plasma (SWP) source, i.e., a microwave plasma source with no magnetic field, is attractive. So far, the plasma production mechanism of the SWP has been extensively studied, [16][17][18][19][20] and on the basis of these studies, its beneficial properties such as high plasma density, low ion-induce damage, and applicability to large areas [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] have been clarified with their deposition and etching process applications. [28][29][30][31] Furthermore, the SWP has been applied to surface modification of non-heat-resistant polymer films.…”