Characterization of Inductively-Coupled RF Plasma Sources with Multiple Low-Inductance Antenna Units

We have developed a cylindrical RF plasma source by the inductive coupling of multiple low-inductance antenna (LIA) units and analyzed the plasma density profile of this source using fluid simulation. Experiments using four LIA units showed a stable source operation even at 2000 W RF power, attaining plasma densities as high as 1011 – 1012 cm3 in an argon pressure range of 0.67 –2.6 Pa. The amplitude of antenna RF voltage was measured to be less than 600 V, which is considerably smaller than those obtained using conventional ICP antennas. The radial distribution of plasma density sustained using four LIA units showed excellent agreement with profiles numerically predicted using a fluid-simulation code