Time-Resolved Electron Energy Distributions and Plasma Characteristics in a Pulsed Capacitively Coupled Plasma

Abstract—Pulsed capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) are at-tractive for controlling electron energy distributions f(ε) and plasma properties for microelectronic fabrication. A conceptual design of a pulsed CCP is discussed which provides additional control over the magnitude and composition of the reactive fluxes to the wafer. We present computed images of time-resolved f(ε) and electron density during a pulse period. Index Terms—Electron energy distribution, plasma simulation, pulsed plasma. IN CAPACITIVELY coupled radio frequency (RF) dis-charges, as used in plasma processing of semiconductors, controlling the electron energy distribution f(ε) is important for controlling the flux of radicals and ions to the substrate. Multifrequency capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) provide an opportunity to customize f(ε) and so excitation rates through choice of frequencies and using pulsed plasmas [1]