Inductively coupled plasma generator for an environmentally benign perfluorocarbon abatement system

Abstract

Although conventional plasma-resolution-type abatement systems for perfluorocarbons (PFCs) achieve PFC removal efficiencies of more than 98%, they consume a lot of electricity. To diminish global warming by reducing CO2 equivalent emissions, an effective low power-consumption plasma generator is essential. The authors found that the pressure at which the electrical discharge can be maintained at the same rf power supply output increased with the number of turns per unit length of coil. In addition, they revealed that the CF4 removal efficiency rose with increasing pressure. A plasma generator employing a modified cylindrical inductively coupled plasma chamber with 1.1turns∕cm achieved a CF4 removal efficiency of 99.0% under conditions of a CF4 flow rate of 10cm3∕min, a pressure of 0.9kPa, and a rf power supply output of 1.5kW. The CO2 equivalent removal efficiency was calculated to be 93.5%, an improvement of 6.7% over that of the previous system.