NSF/DoE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering:Microwave Discharge Heating and Stability for Plasma-Assisted Processing Sources

微波放电已经被开发并应用于许多应用，从用于半导体刻蚀和沉积的电子回旋共振(ECR)等离子体和离子源到用于金刚石薄膜的等离子体辅助CVD源。这项研究旨在更好地理解在这些物理受限的高密度微波放电中发生的电磁耦合和加热过程。该方法将从精心设计的实验中获得的实验数据与相似的数据前沿理论/数值模型相结合，这些模型是为与实际实验相匹配而制定的。预计这项研究的结果不仅将改善对有界高密度放电中微波耦合和加热的基本原理的理解，还将改善这些等离子体源的设计和工艺可控性。理论建模也将在更详细的数值模拟层面上进行。建模工作将开发能够理解和预测源输出、非线性、滞后和多稳态的微波等离子体源行为的数值模拟模型。对等离子体源内部的外部电路控制和能量耦合(即电磁场结构、耦合和等离子体加热)的了解对于理解源的稳定性、工艺可控性以及未来微波等离子体源的定标和均匀性设计问题是关键。

Microwave discharges have been developed and applied to a number of applications ranging from electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma and ion sources for semiconductor etching and deposition to plasma-assisted CVD sources for diamond film. This research is directed toward the improved understanding of electromagnetic coupling and heating processes that take place in these physically bounded, high-density microwave discharges. The approach will combine experimental data which is obtained from carefully constructed experiments, with the analogous data front theoretical/numerical models, which are formulated to match the actual experiment. It is expected that results from this research will not only be the improved understanding of the fundamentals of microwave coupling and heating in bounded high-densitv discharges, but will also be the improved design and process controllability of these plasma sources. Theoretical modeling will also be performed at a more detailed numerical simulation level. The modeling effort will develop numerical simulation models for the behavior of microwave plasma sources which are capable of understanding and predicting source outputs, non-linearity, hysteresis and multiple steady states. Such an understanding of the external circuit control and the energy coupling (i.e., electromagnetic field structure, coupling, and plasma heating) within the plasma source is key to understanding source stability, process controllability and further to microwave plasma source scaling and uniformity design issues in the future.