Uniformity of radio frequency bias voltages along conducting surfaces in a plasma
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 (United States)
- Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 (United States)
High-density magnetic-field-free plasma sources produce plasmas that are opaque to radio frequency (rf) fields in the 0{endash}200 MHz frequency range. Thus plasma currents from a biased substrate flow to ground along reactor surfaces. We investigate some consequences of this rf skin effect in an inductively coupled plasma source with densities of 10{sup 11}{endash}10{sup 12} cm{sup -3} in argon. Magnetic probe measurements confirm that capacitively coupled rf fields are localized near the reactor surfaces. Electric probes were used to measure the voltage on the surface of a biased platen without a substrate. We find that the rf wavelength and phase velocity along reactor surfaces are reduced by a factor of {approximately}5 compared to free space. This reduced wavelength is attributed to a surface wave which can be analyzed using a formalism similar to that for Trivelpiece{endash}Gould modes. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Vacuum Society}
- OSTI ID:
- 253462
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, A, Vol. 14, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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