Bulletin of the American Physical Society
74th Annual Gaseous Electronics Conference
Volume 66, Number 7
Monday–Friday, October 4–8, 2021;
Virtual: GEC Platform
Time Zone: Central Daylight Time, USA
Session SR54: Modeling of Plasma Sources |
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Chair: Robert Arslanbekov, CFD Research Corporation Room: Virtual GEC platform |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 4:00PM - 4:30PM |
SR54.00001: RF Hollow Cathode Discharge Characterization using PIC-MCC Simulation and Reduced Order Model Development Invited Speaker: Kallol Bera Radio-frequency (RF) hollow cathode discharges (HCD) at low to moderate pressures have gained significance for advanced plasma processes in the semiconductor industry. HCDs form in cylindrical cavities in the cathode, and one can use an array of such cavities to create large area HCDs. The plasma in the hollow cavities can become more intense due to the hollow cathode effect (HCE) under certain conditions. A single hollow cathode hole is modeled using Particle-in-Cell/Monte Carlo Collision simulation. In this model, using charge density of particles, Poisson equation is solved for electric potential, which yields the electric field. Using the electric field, all charged particles are moved. The PIC code considers particle collisions using a Monte Carlo model. Statistics of these collisions are used to determine electron energy dissipation in the plasma. RF hollow cathode behavior is simulated for different hole size, pressure and RF voltage. The plasma penetrates inside the hollow cathode hole with increase in pressure. With increase in hole size, plasma penetrates further into the hole. At high RF voltage, plasma density enhancement is limited as plasma spreads over larger volume. With increase in frequency RF sheath heating, hence plasma density increases. A higher secondary electron emission coefficient increases plasma density as well. The synergistic effect of RF sheath heating and secondary electron acceleration on HCD has been explored. Additionally, a reduced order modeling framework is developed based on neural network using plasma model parameters from a RF parallel plate reactor. Different methodologies have been explored in selecting and preprocessing physical data to train and validate the neural network. The prediction of trained neural network compares well with that of the underlying physical model. The neural network framework is applied to RF HCD to determine the collective behavior of an array of hollow cathode holes. |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 4:30PM - 4:45PM |
SR54.00002: Particle-in-cell simulation of multi-frequency capacitively-coupled plasmas at low pressure: a 2D perspective in Ar and O2 Peng Tian, Han Luo, Jason Kenney, Shahid Rauf, Julian Schulze, Ihor Korolov Multi-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas (MFCCPs) are one of the key technologies enabling forefront of current etching process in 3D NAND and FinFET manufacturing. These processes rely crucially on the precise control of plasma density profile, uniformity of ion/radical fluxes and ion energy distribution (IED) in MFCCPs. Varying plasma chemistries in those processes also creates plasmas with different behaviors and scaling properties, e.g., highly electro-negative ion-ion plasmas in oxygen containing gases. In such a rapidly expanding process space, computational modeling has become an important tool in conjunction with experimental diagnostics in understanding the intricate physical mechanisms in MFCCPs. In this paper, a 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma model is used to study the kinetic behavior of low pressure (1 – 10’s mTorr) MFCCPs in two different representative chemistries: Ar and O2. The low frequency RF source is at 100’s kHz while 10’s MHz is used for the high frequency. Simulation shows a shift of the plasma density profile from center-peak to edge-peak over pressure ranging from 2 – 20 mTorr. Results are compared with experimental measurements of plasma density, fluxes and IED over a range of pressure, frequency and RF voltages. Comparison between electro-positive and electro-negative plasmas will also be discussed. |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 4:45PM - 5:00PM |
SR54.00003: Development of a radial-axial particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision model for capacitively coupled plasmas Kentaro Hara, Raymond Lau, Jason Kenney, Shahid Rauf Low-pressure capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) are promising for high aspect ratio etching and deposition. CCPs operate by applying a voltage drop between powered and ground electrodes, between which a circuit (e.g., a capacitor) is considered. In this work, a radial-axial particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision (PIC-MCC) model is developed to study the CCPs. The macroparticle weights of charged particles are varied to minimize the numerical errors near the centerline axis. The results obtained from the present model show good agreement with the PIC-MCC model developed by Rauf [Rauf, PSST 29, 095019 (2020)]. Numerical treatments for the coupling between the circuit and the plasma discharge will be discussed. |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 5:00PM - 5:15PM |
SR54.00004: 3-D Modeling Study of Remote Microwave NH3/N2 Plasma for Wafer Native Oxide Cleaning Process Juan P Barberena Valencia, Laxminarayan L Raja, Rochan Upadhyay, Seung-Min Ryu A plasma native oxide cleaning process is used in semiconductor manufacturing to clean oxide impurities on Si wafers. A remote microwave (MW) excited plasma in NH3-N2 feedgas is used to produce NxHy radicals that facilitate the oxide removal. We perform a 3D model of a typical industrial MW remote plasma source, consisting of a rectangular waveguide intersecting a quartz tube, through which the feed gas flows. |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 5:15PM - 5:30PM |
SR54.00005: Computational study of current-voltage characteristics of a dc atmospheric pressure glow discharge using a 3D model Valentin Boutrouche, Juan Trelles Atmospheric pressure glow discharges (APGDs), due to their versatility and high degree of thermal nonequilibrium, are used in diverse applications, e.g. industrial, environmental, medical. AGPDs have been reported to exist in a self-sustained operation for currents ranging from ~ 100 microamps to 10 amps. At high current operation, instabilities leading to glow-to-arc transition are commonly observed; yet, self-sustained operation can be achieved by careful cooling of the electrode and gas. Computational APGD models are often derived from models for low pressure glow discharges, which often neglect advective gas transport. A 3D computational model of APGD in helium, including thermal and chemical nonequilibrium, and advective gas transport, is presented. The plasma is composed of e-, He, He*, He+, He2* and He2+ species. The set of model equations is solved in a monolithic approach using an in-house-developed Finite Element Method solver. The model is applied to the simulation of a pin-to-plate APGD in helium over a large range of current. The results are shown to be in agreement with experimental results reported in the literature. |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 5:30PM - 5:45PM |
SR54.00006: Electron dynamics in radio-frequency driven micro atmospheric plasma jets for CO2 conversion Sebastian Wilczek, Yue Liu, Natalia Y Babaeva, George V Naidis, Thomas Mussenbrock The CO2 conversion into CO and O2 is a current research topic in the low temperature plasma community. In contrast to thermal conversion, radio frequency plasmas at atmospheric pressures are able to control the electron energy distribution function, and thus, the dissociation pathway of CO2 (excitation of vibrational levels). |
Thursday, October 7, 2021 5:45PM - 6:00PM |
SR54.00007: 3-dimensional semi-analytic model of a microwave driven miniature plasma jet Michael Klute, Efe Kemaneci, Horia-Eugen Porteanu, Ilija Stefanovic, Wolfgang Heinrich, Peter Awakowicz, Ralf Peter Brinkmann Microwave or Radio frequency driven plasma jets play an important role in various technical applications and are usually operated in a capacitive mode. The MiniatureMicroWaveICP (MMWICP) is a new promising plasma source and successfully transfers the induction principle to a miniature plasma jet. This work presents a 3-dimensional semi-analytic model of the electron density of the MMWICP. The model is based on a drift-diffusion equation which is coupled to the electromagnetic model of the MMWICP presented by Klute et al in Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 29 065018 (2020). An analytic solution is found by expanding the expression of the electron density into a series of eigenfunctions. The 3-dimensional profile of the electron density is simulated for characteristic values of the power absorbed by the plasma. The results show that the spatial distribution of the electron density is highly depended on the absorbed power. The results are found to be in good agreement with experimental measurements. |
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