Frequency probe measurements in processing plasmas

Summary form only given. Plasma density measurements are an essential tool in understanding and controlling processing plasmas across a wide range of applications. Charge collection probes (Langmuir probes) are of limited utility in depositing plasmas, high pressure applications or in processes that require the use of reactive gases, as these environments result in unreliable data acquisition. Plasma frequency probes are an attractive alternative to Langmuir probes in such applications since they do not suffer significant performance degradation in these environments. In addition frequency probes provide the same array of plasma parameters for which Langmuir probes are used (plasma density, electron temperature, plasma potential and electron energy distributions). This work presents frequency probes measurements of plasma density over a range of 10⁹ to 10¹² cm^-3 in a variety of processing plasma chemistries (N₂, CH₄, NH₄, O₂ and SF₆). This work also features frequency probe measurements of plasma potential, electron temperature, and electron energy distribution functions in the gas chemistries mentioned above.