scholarly journals Low-frequency, high-density, inductively coupled plasma sources: Operation and applications

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2549-2557 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Xu ◽  
K. N. Ostrikov ◽  
Y. Li ◽  
E. L. Tsakadze ◽  
I. R. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
High Density ◽  
Plasma Sources ◽  
Inductively Coupled

The effect of dielectric top lids on materials processing in a low frequency inductively coupled plasma (LF-ICP) reactor

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 1460340
Author(s):  
J. W. M. Lim ◽  
C. S. Chan ◽  
L. Xu ◽  
S. Xu
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Plasma Reactor ◽  
High Vacuum ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Optical Emission ◽  
Good Alternative ◽  
Plasma Sources ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Glass Substrates

The advent of the plasma revolution began in the 1970's with the exploitation of plasma sources for anisotropic etching and processing of materials. In recent years, plasma processing has gained popularity, with research institutions adopting projects in the field and industries implementing dry processing in their production lines. The advantages of utilizing plasma sources would be uniform processing over a large exposed surface area, and the reduction of toxic emissions. This leads to reduced costs borne by manufacturers which could be passed down as consumer savings, and a reduction in negative environmental impacts. Yet, one constraint that plagues the industry would be the control of contaminants in a plasma reactor which becomes evident when reactions are conducted in a clean vacuum environment. In this work, amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films were grown on glass substrates in a low frequency inductively coupled plasma (LF-ICP) reactor with a top lid made of quartz. Even though the chamber was kept at high vacuum (~10−4 Pa), it was evident through secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) that oxygen contaminants were present. With the aid of optical emission spectroscopy (OES) the contaminant species were identified. The design of the LF-ICP reactor was then modified to incorporate an Alumina ( Al2O3 ) lid. Results indicate that there were reduced amounts of contaminants present in the reactor, and that an added benefit of increased power transfer to the plasma, improving deposition rate of thin films was realized. The results of this study is conclusive in showing that Al2O3 is a good alternative as a top-lid of an LF-ICP reactor, and offers industries a solution in improving quality and rate of growth of thin films.

Plasma-Assisted Nitriding in Low-Frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma Enhanced with Ferromagnetic Cores

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 545-550
Author(s):  
Mikhail Isupov ◽  
Vadim Pinaev ◽  
Daria Mul ◽  
Natalia Belousova
Keyword(s):  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Sample Surface ◽  
Ion Energy ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Steel Aisi ◽  
Current Densities ◽  
Aisi 321 ◽  
Stainless Steel Aisi

AbstractAn experimental investigation of plasma-assisted nitriding of austenitic stainless steel AISI 321 in a low-pressure (7 Pa), low-frequency (50–100 kHz) nitrogen inductively coupled plasma enhanced with ferromagnetic cores has been performed at the temperatures of 470–625 °C, sample biases of ‒500–‒750 V, current densities on the sample surface of 1.2–3.3 mA/cm2 and nitriding times of 20 and 60 min. It is found that even the short (20 min) ion-plasma treatment results in the formation of nitrided layers with the thickness of up to 40 μm and microhardness of up to 9 GPa.The high speed of nitriding can be explained as a result of the joint action of high ion flux density and high ion energy on the sample surface.

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