AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Plasma Science and Technology Division Thursday Sessions
       Session PS-ThP

Paper PS-ThP23
Simulations of the Radial Line Slot Antenna Plasma Source

Thursday, November 3, 2011, 6:00 pm, Room East Exhibit Hall

Session: Plasma Science and Technology Poster Session
Presenter: Peter Ventzek, Tokyo Electron America
Authors: P. Ventzek, Tokyo Electron America
S. Mahadevan, Esgee Technolgies
L. Raja, Esgee Technolgies
T. Iwao, Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute, INC.
L. Chen, Tokyo Electron America
M. Funk, Tokyo Electron America
B. Lane, Tokyo Electron America
R. Sundararajan, Tokyo Electron America
J. Yoshikawa, Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute, INC.
J. Zhao, Tokyo Electron America
T. Nozawa, Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute, INC.
C. Tian, Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute, INC.
K. Ishibashi, Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute, INC.
Correspondent: Click to Email
The Radial Line Slot Antenna (RLSA) plasma source couples microwave power through a slot antenna structure and window to a plasma characterized by a generation zone adjacent to the window and a diffusion zone that contacts a substrate. The diffusion zone is characterized by a very low electron temperature. This property renders the source useful for soft etch applications and thin film processing for which low ion energy is desirable. Models of the RLSA source typically include ambipolar diffusion as an approximation enabling 2D and 3D simulations to be feasible. While such models have predictive value, they also have shortcomings when surface charging, capacitive coupling through a substrate or electronegativity are important. In this presentation we describe a self-consistent fluid model of the plasma kinetics of the RLSA source and demonstrate 3D source characteristics for benchmark argon and oxygen plasmas with and without capacitive coupling. Comparisons between the ambipolar model and self-consistent model are made.