Ion energy and angular distributions in inductively coupled radio frequency discharges in argon

Abstract

We report measurements of the energies and angular distributions of positive ions in an inductively coupled argon plasma in a Gaseous Electronics Conference Reference Cell. Use of two separate ion detectors allowed measurement of ion energies and fluxes as a function of position as well as ion angular distributions on the discharge centerline. The inductive drive on our system produced high plasma densities (up to 1012/cm3 electron densities) and relatively stable plasma potentials. As a result, ion energy distributions typically consisted of a single feature well separated from zero energy. Mean ion energy was independent of rf power and varied inversely with pressure, decreasing from 29 to 12 eV as pressure increased from 2.4 to 50 mTorr. The half-widths of the ion angular distributions in these experiments varied from 5° to 9°, or equivalently, the transverse temperatures varied from 0.18 to 0.29 eV with the distributions broadening as either pressure or rf power was increased.

Mass spectrometric and Langmuir probe measurements in inductively coupled plasmas in Ar, CHF3/Ar and CHF3/Ar/O2mixtures

“…3a shows the Ar ÷ flux as a function of pressure along with GEC data from other groups. 26, 27The flux values of this work are also listed in Table 1. In Fig.…”

Ion Energy Distribution in a Radiofrequency C 4 F 8

“…4. Such multiple-peaked IEDs have not been observed in the case of an inductively coupled Ar discharge [4,5,6,7]. A previous study of an Ar discharge using the same experimental setup [4] has shown that the IED always consists of a single narrow peak in the range from 50 to 300 W and from 0.5 to 5 Pa.…”

“…At 300 W and 8 Pa, the plasma is bright and the IED consists of a single peak at 7 eV with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 3 eV. This distribution is characteristic of a discharge which is mainly driven by inductive coupling between the coil and plasma [5,6,7]. At low power and pressure (100 W and 0.8 Pa), the plasma is dim and the IED consists of a large peak at higher energy (around 20 eV) with an appearing saddle structure.…”

Plasma molding over surface topography: simulation and measurement of ion fluxes, energies and angular distributions over trenches in RF high density plasmas

“…4 shows a schematic of the gridded ion energy and angle analyzer probe used in this work. Probes of this type have been described in detail previously [39], [43]. Due to their hemispherical layout, these analyzers can measure ion fluxes, ion energies, and ion angular distributions.…”