| AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Vacuum Technology | Monday Sessions |
| Session VT-MoA |
| Session: | Gas Dynamics, Simulation and Partial Pressure Analysis |
| Presenter: | Joseph Brindley, Gencoa Limited, UK |
| Authors: | J. Brindley, Gencoa Limited, UK T. Williams, Gencoa Limited, UK B. Daniel, Gencoa Limited, UK V. Bellido-Gonzalez, Gencoa Limited, UK F. Papa, Gencoa USA |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Plasma emission monitoring (PEM) has been used for a number of years to either monitor the condition of or actively control vacuum plasma processes. This approach has many advantages such as fast response time, monotonic sensor behaviour and the ability to control uniformity by monitoring different areas of the process. There are however some disadvantages, e.g. there is required a clear line of sight to the plasma that can be obscured by substrate movement, the PEM sensor can become coated by the deposited material and, of course, it can be only be used when the process itself generates a plasma.
A new type of remote plasma generator has been developed, which when combined with advances in miniature spectrometers can be used to perform optical plasma spectroscopy over a wide pressure range of 1 mBar to 1E-6 mBar. Presented are a number of examples of its use as an intelligent pressure gauge (penning pressure measurement in conjunction with plasma spectroscopy), etching process monitoring, vacuum quality monitoring, and reactive deposition control.
A novel, pulsed power, method of enhancing the sputter effect inside the sensor has also been developed. This allows for use of the sputtered cathode emission as a secondary, indirect indicator of the condition of the vacuum and state of the process, enabling monitoring and control of processes otherwise not possible via conventional plasma spectroscopy. Furthermore, this sputter mode of operation has the effect of “cleaning” the sensor’s cathode, allowing for extended operation with processes that would otherwise damage the sensor.