中国物理B ›› 2023, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (12): 125203-125203.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/ace427

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Global simulation of plasma series resonance effect in radio frequency capacitively coupled Ar/O2 plasma

Xue Bai(白雪), Hai-Wen Xu(徐海文), Chong-Biao Tian(田崇彪), Wan Dong(董婉), Yuan-Hong Song(宋远红), and You-Nian Wang(王友年)   

  1. Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion, and Electron Beams(Ministry of Education), School of Physics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
  • 收稿日期:2023-04-26 修回日期:2023-06-26 接受日期:2023-07-05 出版日期:2023-11-14 发布日期:2023-11-27
  • 通讯作者: Yuan-Hong Song E-mail:songyh@dlut.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.12020101005 and 11975067).

Global simulation of plasma series resonance effect in radio frequency capacitively coupled Ar/O2 plasma

Xue Bai(白雪), Hai-Wen Xu(徐海文), Chong-Biao Tian(田崇彪), Wan Dong(董婉), Yuan-Hong Song(宋远红), and You-Nian Wang(王友年)   

  1. Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion, and Electron Beams(Ministry of Education), School of Physics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
  • Received:2023-04-26 Revised:2023-06-26 Accepted:2023-07-05 Online:2023-11-14 Published:2023-11-27
  • Contact: Yuan-Hong Song E-mail:songyh@dlut.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.12020101005 and 11975067).

摘要: Radio frequency capacitively coupled plasmas (RF CCPs) play a pivotal role in various applications in etching and deposition processes on a microscopic scale in semiconductor manufacturing. In the discharge process, the plasma series resonance (PSR) effect is easily observed in electrically asymmetric and geometrically asymmetric discharges, which could largely influence the power absorption, ionization rate, etc. In this work, the PSR effect arising from geometrically and electrically asymmetric discharge in argon-oxygen mixture gas is mainly investigated by using a plasma equivalent circuit model coupled with a global model. At relatively low pressures, as Ar content (α) increases, the inductance of the bulk is weakened, which leads to a more obvious PSR phenomenon and a higher resonance frequency (ωpsr). When the Ar content is fixed, varying the pressure and gap distance could also have different effects on the PSR effect. With the increase of the pressure, the PSR frequency shifts towards the higher order, but in the case of much higher pressure, the PSR oscillation would be strongly damped by frequent electron-neutral collisions. With the increase of the gap distance, the PSR frequency becomes lower. In addition, electrically asymmetric waveforms applied to a geometrically asymmetric chamber may weaken or enhance the asymmetry of the discharge and regulate the PSR effect. In this work, the Ar/O2 electronegative mixture gas is introduced in a capacitive discharge to study the PSR effect under geometric asymmetry effect and electrical asymmetry effect, which can provide necessary guidance in laboratory research and current applications.

关键词: capacitively coupled Ar/O2 plasma, PSR effect, plasma equivalent circuit model, global model

Abstract: Radio frequency capacitively coupled plasmas (RF CCPs) play a pivotal role in various applications in etching and deposition processes on a microscopic scale in semiconductor manufacturing. In the discharge process, the plasma series resonance (PSR) effect is easily observed in electrically asymmetric and geometrically asymmetric discharges, which could largely influence the power absorption, ionization rate, etc. In this work, the PSR effect arising from geometrically and electrically asymmetric discharge in argon-oxygen mixture gas is mainly investigated by using a plasma equivalent circuit model coupled with a global model. At relatively low pressures, as Ar content (α) increases, the inductance of the bulk is weakened, which leads to a more obvious PSR phenomenon and a higher resonance frequency (ωpsr). When the Ar content is fixed, varying the pressure and gap distance could also have different effects on the PSR effect. With the increase of the pressure, the PSR frequency shifts towards the higher order, but in the case of much higher pressure, the PSR oscillation would be strongly damped by frequent electron-neutral collisions. With the increase of the gap distance, the PSR frequency becomes lower. In addition, electrically asymmetric waveforms applied to a geometrically asymmetric chamber may weaken or enhance the asymmetry of the discharge and regulate the PSR effect. In this work, the Ar/O2 electronegative mixture gas is introduced in a capacitive discharge to study the PSR effect under geometric asymmetry effect and electrical asymmetry effect, which can provide necessary guidance in laboratory research and current applications.

Key words: capacitively coupled Ar/O2 plasma, PSR effect, plasma equivalent circuit model, global model

中图分类号:  (Plasma simulation)

  • 52.65.-y
52.65.Ww (Hybrid methods) 52.80.Pi (High-frequency and RF discharges) 52.80.Tn (Other gas discharges)