Analytical Determination of Collisionless Sheath Properties for Triple Frequency Capacitively Coupled Plasma

Abstract

A triple frequency capacitively coupled plasma (TF-CCP) has been considered to investigate the behavior of the sheath parameters. A self-consistent time-independent collisionless model has been developed. The sheath width and potential are calculated using the present model and compared with those calculated using a single-frequency (SF), a dual-frequency (DF) and a triple-frequency (TF) model for time independent collisionless cases. The sheath motion and sheath potential are found to be larger compared with those of SF and DF CCPs for an inhomogeneous sheath, and that of TF CCP for a homogeneous sheath. The effects of the source parameters, i.e., current magnitudes, frequencies and phase difference, on the sheath parameters are investigated. The sheath parameters show higher values at higher source currents whereas they decrease with the increase of excitation frequencies. It has also been found that, by the proper choice of source frequencies and phase differences, it is possible to adjust the energy of ions when they hit the electrode.