AVS 50th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Wednesday Sessions
       Session PS-WeP

Paper PS-WeP10
Spatio-temporal Characterization of Pulsed, Electron Beam Produced Plasmas

Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 11:00 am, Room Hall A-C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: S.G. Walton, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: S.G. Walton, Naval Research Laboratory
D. Leonhardt, Naval Research Laboratory
C. Muratore, Naval Research Laboratory
D.D. Blackwell, Naval Research Laboratory
R.F. Fernsler, Naval Research Laboratory
R.A. Meger, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
In plasma-based materials modification, regulating the flux of ion, neutral, and radical species at the substrate surface is a critical component of process control. The plasma density determines the flux and the electron temperature influences the energy of these species and so both can be used to regulate reactive species at the substrate. Modulated plasma production as well as remote plasma sources are often employed to control the relative ion flux and energy through temporal or spatial variations in the bulk plasma. In this paper, spatio-temporal characterizations of pulsed, electron beam-generated plasmas will be presented. Mass and time-resolved measurements of ion fluxes and energy distributions are presented and correlated to measurements of the plasma density and electron temperature. Previous work has shown that energetic electron beams are efficient at producing high-density plasmas (n@sube@ > 10@super11@ cm@super-3@) with low electron temperatures (T@sube@ < 1.0 eV) over the volume of the beam. Outside the beam, ion-neutral and electron-ion interactions alter the ion densities and flux. Temporal variations in the density, electron temperature, and flux have been observed during all phases of pulsed plasma production. Measurements are presented for a range of operating pressures, pulse widths, duty factors, and electron beam-to-electrode distances for plasmas produced in argon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The results are used to identify methods by which the ion fluxes and energies can be controlled. This work supported by the Office of Naval Research. @FootnoteText@ Muratore, C., ASEE/NRL Postdoctoral Research Associate; Blackwell, D.D., SFA Inc., Largo, MD.