AVS 47th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Wednesday Sessions
       Session PS-WeP

Paper PS-WeP27
Two-Dimensional Simulation of Pulsed Power Electronegative Plasmas

Wednesday, October 4, 2000, 11:00 am, Room Exhibit Hall C & D

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: D.J. Economou, University of Houston
Authors: D.J. Economou, University of Houston
B. Ramamurthi, University of Houston
V. Midha, University of Houston
Correspondent: Click to Email
Low pressure electronegative plasmas are widely used for the fabrication of sub-micron semiconductor devices. Recently, pulsed power operation has emerged as a promising technique for reducing charge induced damage and etch profile distortion (e.g., notching) associated with conventional continuous wave discharges. This paper will report results of a 2-D fluid simulation of a pulsed-power inductively-coupled chlorine plasma. Simulation results show spontaneous separation of the plasma into an ion-ion core and an electron-ion periphery, depending on the negative ion to electron density ratio. The transition from an electron-dominated plasma to an ion-ion plasma in the afterglow was captured. The spatiotemporal evolution of the plasma for varying pressure, power, pulsing frequency and duty ratio has been studied. The evolution of negative ion density profiles is especially complex due to the formation of self-sharpening fronts during plasma "on" and subsequent back-propagation of the fronts during the plasma "off" stage of the pulse. Reactor geometry has a strong influence on negative ion evolution.