Studies on the effect of finite geometrical asymmetry in dual capacitively coupled radio frequency plasma

Abstract

In recent years, dual capacitively coupled radio frequency (CCRF) glow discharge plasma has been widely studied in the laboratory because of its simpler design and high efficiency for different material processing applications such as thin-film deposition, plasma etching, sputtering of insulating materials etc. The main objective of studies on dual frequency CCRF plasma has been the independent control of ion energy and ion flux using an electrical asymmetry effect (EAE). Most studies have been reported in electrode configurations that are either geometrically symmetric (both electrodes are equal) or completely asymmetric (one electrode is infinitely bigger than the other). However, it seems that most of the laboratory CCRF plasmas have finite electrode geometry. In addition, plasma series resonance (PSR) and electron bounce resonance (EBR) heating also come into play as a result of geometrical asymmetry as well as EAE. In this study, a dual frequency CCRF plasma has been studied in which the dual frequency CCRF has been coupled to the lumped circuit model of the plasma and the time-independent fluid model of the plasma sheath, in order to study the effect of finite geometrical asymmetry on the generation of dc-self bias and plasma heating. The dc self-bias is found to strongly depend on the ratio of the area between the electrodes. The dc self-bias is found to depend on the phase angle between the two applied voltage waveforms. The EAE and geometrical asymmetry are found to work differently in controlling the dc self-bias. It can be concluded that the phase angle between the two voltage waveforms in dual CCRF plasmas has an important role in determining the dc self-bias and may be used for controlling the plasma properties in the dual frequency CCRF plasma.