Modeling of silicon nanoparticle formation in inductively coupled plasma using a modified collision frequency function

Abstract

A model is presented to describe particle growth in inductively coupled plasma. The model consists of plasma chemistry and a coagulation module that adopts a modified collision frequency function. The modified collision frequency function is modified by a collision correlation factor that reflects the repulsive force of the particle charge in plasma in order to describe the reduction of coagulation among medium size particles (around 100 nm). In this model, plasma state and concentration of nuclei are determined by a spatially averaged global model in the plasma chemistry module. Particle growth is calculated by a coagulation module. To verify the validity of the model, comparison analysis is performed between experimental data obtained with PBMS and models, some of which are modified by a collision correlation factor. The analysis is performed with respect to dependencies on synthesis time, plasma source power and chamber pressure. From the analysis, we confirm the validity of the model that adopts a modified collision frequency function for the plasma condition.