Simulation of Capacitively Coupled Single- and Dual-Frequency RF Discharges

Lee, J.K.; Kim, H.C.; Babaeva, Natalia Yu; Manuilenko, O.V.; Shon, J. W.

doi:10.1109/tps.2004.823975

Cited by 101 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The proposal made in [31] was that electron-electron collisions between the cold and hot electrons is the dominant heating mechanism for low-energy electrons. However, there are a number of particle simulation studies [32][33][34], including one by the present author, that show reasonable agreement with this or similar experiments without including electron-electron collisions, and a larger number of studies of related problems, e.g., [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], also neglecting electron-electron collisions. In this section, we re-examine these simulation results, with special attention to convergence with respect to N D .…”

Section: A Radio Frequency Discharge In Argonsupporting

confidence: 66%

Kinetic properties of particle-in-cell simulations compromised by Monte Carlo collisions

Turner

2006

Physics of Plasmas

104

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The particle-in-cell method with Monte Carlo collisions is frequently employed when a detailed kinetic simulation of a weakly collisional plasma is required. In such cases, one usually desires, inter alia, an accurate calculation of the particle distribution functions in velocity space. However, velocity space diffusion affects most, perhaps all, kinetic simulations to some degree, leading to numerical thermalization, and consequently distortion of the velocity distribution functions, among other undesirable effects. The rate of such thermalization can be considered a figure of merit for kinetic simulations. This paper shows that, contrary to previous assumption, the addition of Monte Carlo collisions to a one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation seriously degrades certain properties of the simulation. In particular, the thermalization time can be reduced by as much as three orders of magnitude. This effect makes obtaining a strictly converged simulation results difficult in many cases of practical interest. * Electronic address: miles.turner@dcu.ie

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Section: A Radio Frequency Discharge In Argonsupporting

confidence: 66%

Kinetic properties of particle-in-cell simulations compromised by Monte Carlo collisions

Turner

2006

Physics of Plasmas

104

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“…Various physical mechanisms produce coupling between the two frequencies, and these effects have been explored in general terms in a number of recent papers, e.g. [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the electron heating mechanisms that operate in dual-frequency discharges-in particular, to elucidate their nature and significance, and as far as possible supply convenient formulae that may be used as elements in a comprehensive theoretical understanding of these discharges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electron heating mechanisms in dual-frequency capacitive discharges

Turner

Chabert

2007

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Abstract. We discuss electron heating mechanisms in the sheath regions of dualfrequency capacitive discharges, with the twin aims of identifying the dominant mechanisms and supplying closed-form expressions from which the heating power can be estimated. We show that the heating effect produced by either Ohmic or collisionless heating is much larger when the discharge is excited by a superposition of currents at two frequencies than if either current had acted alone. This coupling effect occurs because the lower frequency current, while not directly heating the electrons to any great extent, strongly affects the spatial structure of the discharge in the sheath regions.

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“…Various material processing applications include RF sputtering for thin film deposition, directional surface etching and plasma cleaning. [2][3][4][5] The microelectronics industry widely uses plasma discharges for various treatments of semiconductor materials. 6 Plasma discharges have biological applications in the form of sterilization, cell removal and printing of protein onto polymer substrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cylindrical Capacitively Coupled Radio Frequency (CCRF) discharges have been simulated and analyzed using the PIC/MCC method in previous research by Lee et al 4,5 Dual frequency discharges were explored, and it was found that dual frequency sources allow independent control over plasma density and ion energy. Simulation results show that the plasma density, and subsequently the sheath width, is increased as the lowfrequency source voltage is increased.…”

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confidence: 99%

Numerical Investigation of Power Transmission Efficiency in a RF Plasma

Ashok

Alexeenko

2009

47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition

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Capacitively coupled radio frequency discharges are used in a variety of applications in which the power transmission efficiency of the discharge is an important performance parameter. While previous research addressed the discharge properties and discharge modeling, little analysis has been done on the dependence of the power transmission efficiency on main discharge paremeters such as applied voltage, operating frequency and pressure. To investigate the effects of a dual frequency waveform on the power transmission efficiency, Particle-InCell/Monte-Carlo Collison (PIC/MCC) methods are used to simulate RF co-axial plasma discharge. Plasma characteristics are studied for a range of operating pressures and radii, as electrode voltages were varied between 0, 100 and 250V. The investigation concludes that the addition of a RF power source to the outer electrode increase power transmission efficiency by about 100%. Power transmission efficiency increases with a decrease in radius and an increase in pressure, in general. Low-frequency high-voltage power source combination is found to generate a more efficient discharge than a high-frequency high-voltage power source.

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Simulation of Capacitively Coupled Single- and Dual-Frequency RF Discharges

Cited by 101 publications

References 16 publications

Kinetic properties of particle-in-cell simulations compromised by Monte Carlo collisions

Kinetic properties of particle-in-cell simulations compromised by Monte Carlo collisions

Electron heating mechanisms in dual-frequency capacitive discharges

Numerical Investigation of Power Transmission Efficiency in a RF Plasma

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