Effects of DC magnetic field on an inductively coupled plasma with a DC biased grid*

The effects of a DC magnetic field on the plasma with a very low electron temperature (~ 0.5 eV) below a DC biased grid are investigated. When the grid is negatively biased, the electron temperature is decreased below 1eV. The magnetic field enhances this decrease in the electron temperature. On the other hand, at electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) conditions, the electron temperature is not controlled by the grid. As the pressure increases, the control of electron temperature by the grid becomes possible even at ECR conditions. These shows that the effects of the magnetic field near ECR conditions are associated with the ECR, which is a highly effective heating mechanism for low energy electrons. These can be explained by electron kinetics and ambipolar diffusion of the plasma above and below the grid.