Characterization of plasmas from a pulsed jet discharge for applications VUV spectroscopy and micromechanics

Author

Phillips, Harvey ; Kubodera, Shoichi ; Sauerbrey, Roland ; Tittel, Frank K. ; Wisoff, Peter J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Rice Univ., Houston, TX, USA

Volume

27

Issue

1

fYear

1991

fDate

1/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

95

Lastpage

100

Abstract

Plasmas from a pulsed jet discharge have been characterized with respect to gas species and nozzle design. Spectral lines from the gas used in the pulsed nozzle are apparent in the visible region. The vacuum ultraviolet spectrum, particularly for heavier gases, is dominated by emission from species sputtered from the nozzle. The production of highly ionized and excited states from materials created by the sputtering of the nozzle has possible applications in VUV (vacuum ultraviolet) spectroscopy. Operating the pulsed jet discharge at a 50-Hz repetition rate with NF₃ to produce excited fluorine ions allowed etch rates in excess of 10 μm/min to be achieved in silicon; this may have applications to micromechanics

Keywords

fluorine; nozzles; plasma diagnostics; plasma jets; ultraviolet spectra of atoms; F^-; NF₃; VUV spectroscopy; etch rates; excited states; gas spectral lines; ionised states; micromechanics; nozzle design; plasmas; pulsed jet discharge; vacuum ultraviolet spectrum; visible region; Fault location; Gases; Laser excitation; Noise measurement; Orifices; Plasma applications; Silicon; Spectroscopy; Sputter etching; Valves;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.73546

Filename

73546