Engineering topics

Collins, Ken

Publications and source records attributed to Collins, Ken.

5 records

DOE OSTI2013

Energy distribution of electron flux at electrodes in a low pressure capacitively coupled plasma

A one-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) model is used to examine the energy distribution of electron flux at electrodes [labeled g{sub e}({epsilon},t), where {epsilon} is energy and t is time] in a low pressure 60 MHz capacitively coupled Ar discharge. The effect of gas pressure and an auxiliary DC voltage on g{sub e}({epsilon},t) is also investigated. It is found that the electrons only leave the plasma for a short time period during the radio-frequency (RF) cycle when the sheath collapses at the electrode. Furthermore, majority of the exiting electrons have energies below 10 eV with a distribution g{sub e}({epsilon},t) that is narrow in both energy and time. At relatively high pressures ({>=}4.67 Pa for the conditions considered), the relationship between the time-average distribution g{sub e}({epsilon}) and electron temperature in the plasma (T{sub e}) can be easily established. Below 4.67 Pa, kinetic effects become important, making it difficult to interpret g{sub e}({epsilon}) in terms of T{sub e}. At low pressures, g{sub e}({epsilon},t) is found to broaden in both energy and time except for a narrow pressure range around 1.2 Pa where the distribution narrows temporally. These low pressure kinetic phenomena are observed when the electrons can be accelerated by expanding sheaths to speeds that allow them to traverse the inter-electrode distance quickly (<1.5 RF cycles for conditions considered) and when electrons undergo few collisions during this excursion. The mean energy of exiting electrons increases with decreasing gas pressure, especially below 1.0 Pa, due to higher T{sub e} and secondary electrons retaining a larger fraction of the energy they gained during initial sheath acceleration. For the relatively small DC voltages examined ( Double-Vertical-Line V{sub dc} Double-Vertical-Line /V{sub rf} {<=} 0.15), the application of a negative DC voltage on an electrode decreases the electron flux there but has a weak impact on the g{sub e} profile.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2012

Extraction of negative ions from pulsed electronegative capacitively coupled plasmas

Charge buildup during plasma etching of dielectric features can lead to undesirable effects, such as notching, bowing, and twisting. Pulsed plasmas have been suggested as a method to achieve charge-free plasma etching. In particular, electronegative plasmas are attractive as the collapse of the plasma potential during the after-glow period of pulsed capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) can allow for extraction of negative ions into the feature. The extraction of negative ions in the after-glow of pulsed CCPs sustained in CF{sub 4} containing gas mixtures is computationally investigated. In this paper, the consequences of pulse frequency and gas chemistry on negative ion flux to the wafer are discussed. A low negative ion flux to the wafer was observed only in the late after-glow period of low pulse frequencies. The negative ion flux was found to significantly increase with the addition of highly electronegative gases (such as thermally attaching Cl{sub 2}) even at a high pulse frequency of 10 kHz. As the production of negative ions during the after-glow diminishes, alternative strategies to enhance the flux were also pursued. The flux of negative ions was found to increase by the addition of a pulsed dc voltage on the top electrode that is 180 Degree-Sign out-of-phase with the rf pulse.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2012

On the scaling of rf and dc self-bias voltages with pressure in electronegative capacitively coupled plasmas

Higher gas densities and lower diffusion losses at higher operating pressures typically lead to increased charged species densities (and hence flux) for a constant power deposition in capacitively coupled plasmas (CCP). As a result, one would expect that the bias radio-frequency (rf) voltage required to deposit a given power in a CCP reactor decreases with increasing operating pressure. These observations may not hold true in multiple frequency CCPs, commonly used for dielectric etching in microelectronics fabrication, due to nonlinear interactions between the rf sources. Wafer-based measurements of the rf and self-generated direct current (dc) bias voltages in a dual-frequency capacitively coupled electronegative plasma were made, which indicate that the rf and dc voltages vary nonmonotonically with pressure. These experimental results are presented in this paper and a computational plasma model is used to explain the experimental observations for varying 60 MHz and 13 MHz powers in the Ar/CF{sub 4}/CHF{sub 3} plasma over a pressure range of 25 to 400 mTorr. The authors found that while the ion density increases with pressure, the increase is most dominant near the electrode with the high frequency source (60 MHz). The rf and dc bias voltages are ultimately influenced by both charged species density magnitudes and spatial profiles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2012

Decreasing high ion energy during transition in pulsed inductively coupled plasmas

Pulsed RF plasmas sustained in electronegative gas mixtures are increasingly being employed for plasma etching at future technological nodes. During the plasma transition from the afterglow to the active-glow, ion energies at the wafer can substantially increase due to the high voltage required to deposit bias power into few electrons. These high energy ions, albeit few, increase the possibility of ion bombardment damage and are, therefore, detrimental to the etching process. Strategies to decrease the high ion energies during transition are investigated using a two-dimensional computational plasma model. Results for poly-Si etch in an Ar/Cl{sub 2} gas mixture indicate that the high ion energies can be reduced by offsetting the bias pulse from the source pulse with minimal impact on the etch depth rates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2012

Model for a transformer-coupled toroidal plasma source

A two-dimensional fluid plasma model for a transformer-coupled toroidal plasma source is described. Ferrites are used in this device to improve the electromagnetic coupling between the primary coils carrying radio frequency (rf) current and a secondary plasma loop. Appropriate components of the Maxwell equations are solved to determine the electromagnetic fields and electron power deposition in the model. The effect of gas flow on species transport is also considered. The model is applied to 1 Torr Ar/NH{sub 3} plasma in this article. Rf electric field lines form a loop in the vacuum chamber and generate a plasma ring. Due to rapid dissociation of NH{sub 3}, NH{sub x}{sup +} ions are more prevalent near the gas inlet and Ar{sup +} ions are the dominant ions farther downstream. NH{sub 3} and its by-products rapidly dissociate into small fragments as the gas flows through the plasma. With increasing source power, NH{sub 3} dissociates more readily and NH{sub x}{sup +} ions are more tightly confined near the gas inlet. Gas flow rate significantly influences the plasma characteristics. With increasing gas flow rate, NH{sub 3} dissociation occurs farther from the gas inlet in regions with higher electron density. Consequently, more NH{sub 4}{sup +} ions are produced and dissociation by-products have higher concentrations near the outlet.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗