Electron and ion-molecule collisional data for the science of plasma processing
- Wright Lab., Wright Patterson AFB, OH (United States). Plasma Research Group
- Wright State Univ., Dayton, OH (United States). Dept. of Physics
Plasma processing of materials has emerged as the enabling technology for many industrial applications ranging from the fabrication of microelectronic circuits to coatings for advanced combustion engines. After impressive, mainly empirical successes, further developments now require more precise control and understanding of the mechanisms for selective deposition, etching, or reaction. The electron temperature of a non-equilibrium plasma can easily be 20,000 K while the gas temperature is less than 500 K. The reactivity of the plasma-excited gases is often enhanced by many orders of magnitude. Electron and ion collisions, especially those causing dissociation of the initial gases, and reactions of the resulting radicals with gases and at surfaces are crucial. Extant collisional data and methods are reviewed in the context of emerging technological requirements. Examples are presented for (1) crossed-beam and swarm studies of electron-molecule collisions; (2) Fourier Transform Mass spectrometry probes of dissociative ionization, attachment, and charge-transfer collisions, and (3) Surface Desorption Spectroscopy examinations of surface reactions.
- OSTI ID:
- 163086
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950612--; ISBN 0-7803-2669-5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Non-Joule electron heating in a weakly-collisional inductively coupled plasma
Wavepacket theory of collisional dissociation in molecules