Effects of pulse shape tailoring on the properties of a pulsed capacitively coupled radiofrequency discharge

We present a study carried out on a capacitively coupled radiofrequency pulsed plasma with the aim of determining the effect of different pulse shapes on the overall discharge properties. A set of differently shaped pulses were used to generate discharges in a low pressure radiofre-quency discharge and measurements of electron density, made using microwave resonance hairpin probes, and optical emission spectra, made using a spectrometer and a gated ICCD, were used to characterise the discharge. The study was carried out in a capacitively coupled radiofrequency discharge generated in a Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) reference reactor with gas pressure in the range of 6 − 70 Pa, radiofrequency power in the range of 1 − 100 W, and pulse duration in the range of 10 µs − 100 ms. Tailored pulses can be used to control the development of electron energy and electron density. 1