Reactive species production within inductively coupled hydrogen plasmas*

Non-equilibrium plasmas containing hydrogen are of significant interest for basic plasma physics and technological applications including the plasma-assisted processing of semiconductors. Obtaining enhanced spatial control of reactive species production, including that for negative ions at atomic hydrogen, is critical. In this talk, we report upon recent investigations of hydrogen containing, low-pressure inductively coupled plasmas from experimental and simulation perspectives. Mass spectrometry and photoemission yield spectroscopy are applied to investigate the surface production of negative ions from electrically biased doped diamond, and laser spectroscopy enables the measurement of atomic hydrogen across the plasma. Fluid-kinetic simulations, which track the reaction kinetics of 14 vibrationally excited states of the hydrogen molecule while incorporating heavy-particle reaction enthalpies and self-consistent gas heating, are used to study the impact of spatial gradients in the rf power and gas temperature on the formation of atomic hydrogen. The results are expected to be of interest for developing a detailed understanding of the physics of reactive-species production, and the application of the underpinning mechanisms to technological applications.