IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Plasma Science Friday Sessions
       Session PS-FrM

Paper PS-FrM7
Ion Energy Measurements in a Pulsed Plasma with a High-resolution, Submicron, Retarding Field Analyzer

Friday, November 2, 2001, 10:20 am, Room 104

Session: Diagnostics III
Presenter: M.G. Blain, Sandia National Laboratories
Authors: M.G. Blain, Sandia National Laboratories
M.J. Sowa, Sandia National Laboratories
R.L. Jarecki, Sandia National Laboratories
Correspondent: Click to Email
A silicon wafer-based, submicron, high-resolution, retarding field analyzer (RFA)@footnote 1@ was used to measure ion energy distributions in an inductively coupled plasma where the source power was pulsed on and off. Experiments were conducted in argon at pressures from 1.5 - 40 mTorr, with various source rf powers, for periods of 10-40 µsec with duty factors from 20%-80%. In contrast to the single peak obtained with continuous Ar plasmas, distinct high and low ion energy peaks were frequently observable in the pulsed plasmas. These distinct peaks can be attributed to contributions from a high T@sub e@ inductively-powered plasma, and a low T@sub e@ afterglow, respectively. A simulation based on the global plasma model of Ashida, et al.@footnote 2@ was able to capture the qualitative trends in the pulsed data, confirming this interpretation. Additional pulsed experiments were performed with 0-100% O@sub 2@/Ar mixtures, as well as various Cl@sub 2@/Ar mixtures. Oxygen addition, in particular, produces an increased spread between the high and low energy peaks, perhaps due to depletion of electron density by attachment during the afterglow.@footnote 3@ @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@M.G. Blain, J.E. Stevens, J.R. Woodworth, Appl. Phys. Lett., v.75, n.25, p.3923, 1999. @footnote 2@S. Ashida, C. Lee, and M. A. Lieberman, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, v.13, n.5, p.2498, 1995. @footnote 3@Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.