Simulation of low-pressure capacitively coupled plasmas using a parallelized particle-in-cell simulation and a direct simulation of Monte Carlo for neutrals

Summary form only given. There are increasing demands for nano-scale plasma processing such as nano-particle generation, oxide etching, and high quality thin film deposition as the microelectronics industry grows rapidly. Under very low-pressure condition (up to a few mTorr), it is difficult to generate and maintain plasmas, and therefore it is important to understand the properties of neutral gas flow together. In this study, a two-dimensional axisymmetric particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation parallelized with graphic processing units (GPUs) was utilized for the investigation of discharge characteristics of a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) device. Direct simulation Monte-Carlo (DSMC) method was used for the calculation of neutral distribution instead of fluid model for low-pressure regime. In order to increase plasma generation under very low-pressure condition, several methods can be applied such as external magnetic field, electron beam injection [1], and resonance heating [2], of which effects are investigated in this study.