An experimental and computational study on the ignition process of a pulse modulated dual-RF capacitively coupled plasma operated at various low-frequency voltage amplitudes

Abstract

Abstract The ignition process of a pulse modulated capacitively coupled argon discharge driven simultaneously by two radio frequency voltages [12.5 MHz (high frequency) and 2.5 MHz (low frequency, LF)] is investigated by multifold experimental diagnostics and particle in cell / Monte Carlo collision simulations. In particular, (i) the effects of the LF voltage amplitude measured at the end of the pulse-on period, V L , e n d , on the spatiotemporal distribution of the electron impact excitation rate determined by phase resolved optical emission spectroscopy, and (ii) the electrical parameters acquired by analyzing the measured waveforms of the plasma current and voltage, are studied. Computed electrical parameters and spatio-temporal excitation maps show a good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. Especially, various breakdown mechanisms are found at different V L , e n d . At low values of V L , e n d , the ‘RF-avalanche’ mode (volume process) dominates the electron multiplication process. By increasing V L , e n d , the ionization caused by the volume electrons is suppressed and the electron loss at the electrodes is enhanced, leading to a delayed ignition. At higher values of V L , e n d , the avalanche ionization is significantly enhanced by ion-induced secondary electron emission at the electrodes, so that the ignition is significantly advanced.