E→H mode transition density and power in two types of inductively coupled plasma configuration

Abstract

E → H transition power and density were investigated at various argon pressures in inductively coupled plasma (ICP) in a cylindrical interlaid chamber. The transition power versus the pressure shows a minimum transition power at 4 Pa (ν/ω=1) for argon. Then the transition density hardly changes at low pressures (ν/ω≪1), but it increases clearly when argon pressure exceeds an appropriate value. In addition, both the transition power and transition density are lower in the re-entrant configuration of ICP compared with that in the cylindrical configuration of ICP. The result may be caused from the decrease of stochastic heating in the re-entrant configuration of ICP. This work is useful to understand E → H mode transition and control the transition points in real plasma processes.