NYI: Pulsed Discharge Processing

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The author will study the kinetics of pulsed glow discharges related to semiconductor processing. There are several important differences between pulsed and continuous discharges which have yet to be thoroughly investigated. First, the modulated excitation source causes the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) to become time dependent. As a consequence, modulated excitation sources should make it possible to control the time averaged EEDF even though it is difficult to control in continuous glows. The author will study power deposition mechanisms at discharge initiation as well as discharge decay mechanisms in order to determine whether an appropriately modulated excitation source can be used to optimize the kinetics of a particular process. Second, the transport of negative ions to surfaces can be controlled in pulsed discharges and may allow for a study of the interactions of negative ions with surfaces as well as the transport of particulates. Finally, pulsed discharges offer a technique for positive ion energy control in reactive ion etching, since the dc self bias voltage can be controlled. The author will combine plasma state measurements with wafer state measurements, and modeling in the course of this research.