Two-dimensional hybrid model of inductively coupled plasma sources for etching

Abstract

Inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) are currently being investigated as high density (> lo"-10" cmB3), low pressure (< l-20 mTorr) sources for semiconductor etching and deposition. We have developed a two-dimensional (Y,z) hybrid model for ICP sources and have used the model to investigate Ar/C!Fd02 mixtures for etching applications. The simulation consists of electromagnetic, electron Monte Carlo, and hydrodynamic modules with an "off-line" plasma chemistry Monte Carlo simulation. The model produces the temporally and spatially dependent magnetic and electric fields (both inductively and capacitively coupled), plasma densities, and the energy resolved flux of ions and radicals to the substrate. We discuss-results for densities, power deposition, and ion energies to the substrate as a function of position.

Plasma properties determined with induction loop probes in a planar inductively coupled plasma source

“…5,8,9 These studies and several modeling efforts [10][11][12][13][14] show an azimuthal rf electric-field amplitude that is null on axis, increases radially to a maximum value under the antenna, and then falls to zero at the radial boundary. Optical emission was found to peak in the region of peak electric-field amplitude as energy coupling to the electrons is maximum there.…”

The complete flux scheme—Error analysis and application to plasma simulation

“…To eliminate other factors affecting the accuracy of the solution we did not apply the so-called semi-implicit treatment [22,23,24] for Poisson's equation to circumvent the time step restriction. Instead, a fixed 17 time step ∆t = 10 −9 is imposed.…”

“…Then for h ≥ D, we estimate the terms of (22). As an example, the estimation process of I 1 is presented.…”

Investigating the plasma chemistry for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes/nanofibres in an inductively coupled plasma enhanced CVD system: the effect of different gas mixtures

“…The plasma quantities are generated by iterating between these different coupled modules. A short review of these three modules is given in the following, more details can be found in the publications of Kushner et al, the developers of the HPEM [37][38][39][40][41][42]. After defining the reactor geometry and initial operating conditions, the first module EMM calculates the electromagnetic fields within the reactor volume by solving Maxwell equations.…”

“…To investigate the plasma chemistry for a CNT-PECVD system, a systematic study with the 2D Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model (HPEM) [37][38][39][40][41][42] is carried out in our group. An ICP reactor, more specifically, a transformer coupled plasma (TCP) reactor is used in the simulations for two reasons: first, the TCP system is widely used in the semiconductor industry, because it is simple to construct and offers high ionization efficiency compared to dc or RF capacitive discharges.…”