AVS 45th International Symposium
    Selected Energy Epitaxy Topical Conference Wednesday Sessions
       Session SE-WeA

Paper SE-WeA10
The Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet: Properties and Materials Applications

Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 5:00 pm, Room 327

Session: Novel Sources for Selected Energy Growth
Presenter: A. Schütze, University of California, Los Angeles
Authors: A. Schütze, University of California, Los Angeles
J. Park, Los Alamos National Laboratory
S.E. Babayan, University of California, Los Angeles
J.Y. Jeong, University of California, Los Angeles
V.J. Tu, University of California, Los Angeles
G.S. Selwyn, Los Alamos National Laboratory
R.F. Hicks, University of California, Los Angeles
Correspondent: Click to Email
Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets can be used in a wide range of materials applications, including surface cleaning, selective etching and thin-film deposition. The plasma source consists of two closely spaced electrodes through which helium and other gases flow (O@sub 2@, CF@sub 4@, etc.). A variety of electrode configurations can be used, and the source is suitable for large-area processing of materials. Measurements with an impedance probe have shown that this source exhibits a low breakdown voltage at atmospheric pressure, between 50 and 300 V, depending on the gap spacing and gas mixture. The current-voltage characteristics are analogous to a low-pressure DC discharge, in which normal and abnormal glow regions occur. Normal glow is observed between 0.01 and 1.0 A with a corresponding voltage of about 150 V. As an example application, we will discuss the plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of silicon dioxide. Film growth rates of 0.3 to 1.0 µm/min are achieved using tetraethoxysilane or silane sources. The growth rate increases linearly with RF power and Si source pressure, but decrease with increasing pressure. The properties of the SiO@sub 2@ films deposited at 350 °C, as determined by infrared spectroscopy, photoemission spectroscopy and capacitance measurements, are comparable to those of thermally grown SiO@sub 2@ films at 900 °C.