Uniformity control of the deposition rate profile of a-Si:H film by gas velocity and temperature distributions in a capacitively coupled plasma reactor

Increasing the productivity of a showerhead-type capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) reactor requires an in-depth understanding of various physical phenomena related to the showerhead, which is not only responsible for gas distribution, but also acts as the electrode. Thus, we investigated how to enhance the cleanliness and deposition rate by studying the multiple roles of the showerhead electrode in a CCP reactor. We analyzed the gas transport in a three-dimensional complex geometry, and the SiH4/He discharges were simulated in a two-dimensional simplified geometry. The process volume was installed between the showerhead electrode (radio frequency powered) and the heater electrode (grounded). Our aim of research was to determine the extent to which the heated showerhead contributed to increasing the deposition rate and to reducing the size of the large particles generated during processing. The temperature of the showerhead was increased to experimentally measure the number of particles transported onto the heater to demonstrate the effects thereof on the decrease in contamination. The number of particles larger than 45 nm decreased by approximately 93% when the showerhead temperature increased from 373 to 553 K.

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Dust transport phenomena in a capacitively coupled plasma reactor

Journal of Applied Physics ◽

10.1063/1.1285843 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 89 (1) ◽

pp. 34-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Heon Chang Kim ◽

Vasilios I. Manousiouthakis

Keyword(s):

Plasma Reactor ◽

Transport Phenomena ◽

Capacitively Coupled ◽

Dust Transport ◽

Capacitively Coupled Plasma

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Deposition Kinetics of Thin Silica-Like Coatings in a Large Plasma Reactor

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma12193238 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (19) ◽

pp. 3238 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Žiga Gosar ◽

Denis Đonlagić ◽

Simon Pevec ◽

Janez Kovač ◽

Miran Mozetič ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deposition Rate ◽

Plasma Reactor ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Processing Parameters ◽

Ion Density ◽

Capacitively Coupled ◽

Rotary Pumps ◽

Kinetics Of ◽

Radio Frequency Discharge ◽

Deposited Films

An industrial size plasma reactor of 5 m3 volume was used to study the deposition of silica-like coatings by the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. The plasma was sustained by an asymmetrical capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharge at a frequency of 40 kHz and power up to 7 kW. Hexamethyldisilioxane (HMDSO) was introduced continuously at different flows of up to 200 sccm upon pumping with a combination of roots and rotary pumps at an effective pumping speed between 25 and 70 L/s to enable suitable gas residence time in the plasma reactor. The deposition rate and ion density were measured continuously during the plasma process. Both parameters were almost perfectly constant with time, and the deposition rate increased linearly in the range of HMDSO flows from 25 to 160 sccm. The plasma density was of the order of 1014 m−3, indicating an extremely low ionization fraction which decreased with increasing flow from approximately 2 × 10−7 to 6 × 10−8. The correlations between the processing parameters and the properties of deposited films are drawn and discussed.

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