AVS 45th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Division Monday Sessions
       Session PS-MoP

Paper PS-MoP12
Consequences of Photon Injection in an Inductively Coupled Plasma@footnote 1@

Monday, November 2, 1998, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A

Session: Plasma Science and Technology Poster Session
Presenter: E.R. Keiter, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Authors: E.R. Keiter, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
M.J. Kushner, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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The plasma chemistry used for PECVD and etching are usually complex and consist of many different neutral and ionic species, only a subset of which may be desirable. Due to the nonselective excitation and dissociation typically obtained in plasmas, it can often often be difficult to simultaneously optimize all process variables. For example, a plasma with optimally high ion flux may have other plasma parameters that are detrimental to the process, such as a larger density of a polymerizing radical. By using an auxiliary source of excitation, such as a photon beam for photolysis or photoionization, it may be possible to simultaneously optimize multiple plasma parameters. In this paper we present results from a numerical study of an Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) system which includes an auxilliary photon source. The Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model (HPEM) has been modified to include a Monte Carlo Photon Beam (MCPB) module and is the simulation tool used in the study. Photons in the MCPB are represented as numerical particles, and photon absorption is described by using a variable particle weighting method. Photon reactions are specified in the same manner as other chemical processes. Source rates for charged and neutral species which result from photon absorption are generated by the MCPB and used by the fluid module of the HPEM. We will present the results from a parametric study of the effects of an external photon source on species densities and plasma parameters for a Cl@sub 2@ etching system and Ar/SiH@sub 4@ deposition system. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@Work supported by Applied Materials, SRC and NSF.