AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Monday Sessions
       Session PS-MoM

Paper PS-MoM9
Rare Gas and O Metastable Density in Rare Gas Diluted Oxygen RF Plasmas

Monday, October 31, 2005, 11:00 am, Room 302

Session: Plasma Diagnostics
Presenter: T. Kitajima, National Defense Academy of Japan
Authors: T. Kitajima, National Defense Academy of Japan
K. Takahashi, National Defense Academy of Japan
T. Nakano, National Defense Academy of Japan
T. Makabe, Keio University, Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
Rare gas diluted O2 plasmas are interested for application to high quality SiO2 film formation. Especially, metastable O(1D) atoms produced in rare gas diluted O2 plasma is believed to promote higher production rate of the oxide films. The density of rare gas metastable atoms and O metastable atom in rare gas diluted O2 radio frequency (RF) capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) was measured by optical absorption spectroscopy (OAS). By decreasing O2 fraction in plasma, O(1D) metastable density icreases to twice of pure O2 plasma at 100 mTorr. Decreases of rare gas metastable densities due to addition of O2 indicate efficient O atom production by rare gas metastables via collisional quenching. Krypton metastable had highest density among four rare gas species for fixed RF power. The decrease of Ar metastable density due to O2 addition showed quantitative agreement with reported quenching rate coefficient. Detailed discussion on different gas pressures illustrates reduced O2 fraction is the key for selective production of O atoms through rare gas metastables.