Two-dimensional simulation of compact ECR plasma sources

Abstract

In the present paper, argon plasma behaviour in a compact electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma reactor is systematically studied by means of 2D simulation. Using a hybrid electron fluid - article ion plasma and particle neutral model, we have obtained the plasma potential, density, electron temperature, ionization rate, ion kinetic energy and velocity distributions and have found that the neutral gas pressure plays an important role in affecting all these distributions. In addition, non-uniform neutral gas depletion effects are examined by using a 2D Monte Carlo method. The depletion can obviously improve the plasma parameter uniformity. The average ion kinetic energy impacting on the substrate increases while the neutral gas pressure decreases. It is found that the plasma density is decreased by a factor of two and the profile becomes more uniform if non-uniform gas density is considered. Meanwhile, the ionization rate is sensitive to the non-uniform neutral density. The ion random kinetic energies of both the parallel and the perpendicular components are obtained and the ion rotating directed movement is observed. The perpendicular random energy near the top of the reactor can be much larger than that near the bottom.