Characterization of an ECR Microwave Plasma Etching System

1992 ◽  
Vol 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Jin ◽  
Kwan C. Kao
Keyword(s):  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Plasma Density ◽  
Plasma Etching ◽  
Microwave Plasma ◽  
Plasma Chemistry ◽  
Voltage Source ◽  
Magnetic Field Profile ◽  
Absorbed Power ◽  
Etching System ◽  
Gas Pressures

ABSTRACTAn ECR microwave plasma etching system and an alternating bias voltage source with variable frequencies ( 10kHz to 10 MHz ) have been built for the study of the effects of the substrate bias on the submicron feature etching. A quadrupole mass spectrometer was used for the end-point monitoring and the plasma chemistry analysis. A Langmuir probe was used to characterize the etching plasma. The system can generate plasmas with densities ranging from 1×1015m−3 to 5×1016m−3 corresponding to gas pressures from 1×10−4 torr to 6×10−3torr at a fairly low microwave power. This condition results in a stable electron temperature. The magnetic field profile can be adjusted to obtain a constant plasma density of 2.8×1016m−3 and an electron temperature in kTe of 4 eV to 5 eV. The plasma beam is of 75mm in diameter with the ion current intensity fluctuation of about ±5% at the etching position for the gas pressures ranging from 4×10−4 torr to 3×10−3 torr at an absorbed power of 70Watts. The plasma density, the electron temperature, the breakdown power, and the sustaining power have been studied as functions of gas pressure in order to optimize the etching performance.

Combined influence of axial electron temperature and exponential plasma density ramp on the self-focusing of a chirped laser in plasma

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 671-675
Author(s):  
Niti Kant ◽  
Vishal Thakur
Keyword(s):  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Pulse Laser ◽  
Plasma Density ◽  
Beam Width ◽  
Spot Size ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
The Self ◽  
Chirped Pulse ◽  
Self Focusing ◽  
Paraxial Ray

AbstractAn analysis of the self-focusing of highly intense chirped pulse laser under exponential plasma density ramp with higher order value of axial electron temperature has been done. Beam width parameter is derived by using paraxial ray approximation and then solved numerically. It is seen that self-focusing of chirped pulse laser is intensely affected by the higher order values of axial electron temperature. Further, influence of exponential plasma density ramp is studied and it is concluded that self-focusing of laser enhances and occurs earlier. On the other hand defocusing of beam reduces to the great extent. It is noticed that the laser spot size reduces significantly under joint influence of the density ramp and the axial electron temperature. Present analysis may be useful for the analysis of quantum dots, the laser induced fusion and etc.

Dependence of the a-Si:H Defect Density of States on the Magnetic Field Profile of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Microwave Plasma

1992 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.S. Pool ◽  
J.M. Essick ◽  
Y.H. Shing ◽  
R.T. Mather
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Density Of States ◽  
Cyclotron Resonance ◽  
Electron Cyclotron Resonance ◽  
Microwave Plasma ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Electron Cyclotron ◽  
Field Profile ◽  
Magnetic Field Profile ◽  
The Magnetic Field

ABSTRACTThe magnetic field profile of an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) microwave plasma was systematically altered to determine subsequent effects on a-Si:H film quality. Films of a-Si:H were deposited at pressures of 0.7 mTorr and 5 mTorr with a H2/SiH4 ratio of approximately three. The mobility gap density of states ND, deposition rate and light to dark conductivity were determined for the a-Si:H films. This data was correlated to the magnetic field profile of the plasma, which was characterized by Langmuir probe measurements of the ion current density. By variation of the magnetic field profile ND could be altered by more than an order of magnitude, from 1×1016 to 1×1017 at 0.7 mTorr and 1×1016 to 5×1017 at 5 mTorr. Two deposition regimes were found to occur for the conditions of this study. Highly divergent magnetic fields resulted in poor quality a-Si:H, while for magnetic field profiles defining a more highly confined plasma, the a-Si:H was of device quality and relatively independent of the magnetic field configuration.

The attachment length in orificed hollow cathodes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Wordingham ◽  
Pierre-Yves Taunay ◽  
Edgar Choueiri
Keyword(s):  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Plasma Density ◽  
Hollow Cathode ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Closed Form Solution ◽  
Form Solution ◽  
Decay Length ◽  
Plasma Density Profile ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Approximate Boundary Condition

Abstract A first-principles approach to obtain the attachment length within a hollow cathode with a constrictive orifice, and its scaling with internal cathode pressure, is developed. This parameter, defined herein as the plasma density decay length scale upstream of (away from) the cathode orifice, is critical because it controls the utilization of the hollow cathode insert and influences cathode life. A two-dimensional framework is developed from the ambipolar diffusion equation for the insert-region plasma. A closed-form solution for the plasma density is obtained using standard partial differential equation techniques by applying an approximate boundary condition at the cathode orifice plane. This approach also yields the attachment length and electron temperature without reliance on measured plasma property data or complex computational models. The predicted plasma density profile is validated against measurements from the NSTAR discharge cathode, and calculated electron temperatures and attachment lengths agree with published values. Nondimensionalization of the governing equations reveals that the solution depends almost exclusively on the neutral pressure-diameter product in the insert plasma region. Evaluation of analytical results over a wide range of input parameters yields scaling relations for the variation of the attachment length and electron temperature with the pressure-diameter product. For the range of orifice-to-insert diameter ratio studied, the influence of orifice size is shown to be small except through its effect on insert pressure, and the attachment length is shown to be proportional to the insert inner radius, suggesting high-pressure cathodes should be constructed with larger-diameter inserts.

PICASSO: The Golden CubeSat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel Baker ◽  
Michel Anciaux ◽  
Philippe Demoulin ◽  
Didier Fussen ◽  
Didier Pieroux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Plasma Density ◽  
Space Science ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Scientific Instruments ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Spacecraft Potential

<p>Led by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, the ESA-backed mission PICASSO (PICo-Satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations) successfully launched its gold-plated satellite on an Arianespace Vega rocket in September 2020. PICASSO is a 3U CubeSat mission in collaboration with VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, AAC Clyde Space Ltd. (UK), and the CSL (Centre Spatial de Liège), Belgium. The commissioning of the two onboard scientific instruments is currently ongoing; once they are operational, PICASSO will be capable of providing scientific measurements of the Earth’s atmosphere. VISION, proposed by BISA and developed by VTT, will retrieve vertical profiles of ozone and temperature by observing the Earth's atmospheric limb during orbital Sun occultation; and SLP, developed by BISA, will measure in situ plasma density and electron temperature together with the spacecraft potential.</p><p>Serving as a groundbreaking proof-of-concept, the PICASSO mission has taught valuable lessons about the advantages of CubeSat technology as well as its many complexities and challenges. These lessons learned, along with preliminary measurements from the two instruments, will be presented and discussed.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document