Radially-dependent ignition process of a pulsed capacitively coupled RF argon plasma over 300 mm-diameter electrodes: multi-fold experimental diagnostics

A synergistic combination of multi-diagnostic methods are proposed to investigate temporal evolution of electrical and plasma parameters at various radial positions over 300 mm-diameter electrodes during the pre-ignition, ignition, and post-ignition phases of a pulsed capacitively coupled radio-frequency (RF) argon discharge. The electron density, n (e), and the optical emission intensity (OEI) of argon at 750.4 nm at different radial positions are measured time-resolved by using a hairpin probe and an optical probe, respectively. A B-dot probe is employed to determine the waveforms of the azimuthal magnetic field at different radii, from which the waveforms of the axial current density at corresponding radial positions are derived based on Ampere's law. Then, the time evolution of the power density at various radii can be calculated, provided that the voltage drop between the electrodes is independent of radius. Meanwhile, the time-dependent total power deposited into the reactor is calculated with the voltage and the current waveforms measured by a voltage and a current probe at the power feeding point. It was found that during pre-ignition phase, the OEI and n (e) cannot be measurable due to extremely low power deposition when the system exhibits pure capacitive impedance. During the ignition phase, the OEI, the power density, and the current density exhibit the most significant increase at the electrode center, while the time evolution of n (e) measured by the hairpin probe seems to exhibit a relatively weak radial dependence during this phase. In particular, at r <= 8 cm, the OEI at every radius was observed to change with time in the same manner as the power density during the ignition phase, because the RF power is absorbed primarily by electrons, which dissipate their energy via inelastic collisions. Shortly, the profile of n (e) becomes edge-high during the post-ignition phase and remains thereafter until the end of the pulse-on period. Methodologically, the synergistic diagnostics lay the foundation for extensive studies on spatiotemporal evolution of plasma ignition process under broader conditions, e.g. electronegative gas, lower working gas pressure and very high driving frequency, widely used by practical etching process.

Automated summary

A synergistic combination of multiple diagnostic methods was used to investigate the temporal evolution of electrical and plasma parameters in a pulsed RF argon discharge, showing significant changes in electron density, optical emission intensity, and current density at different radial positions during pre-ignition, ignition, and post-ignition phases. This study lays the groundwork for future research on plasma ignition processes under various conditions, such as for practical etching processes.