Effects of rf-bias power on plasma parameters in a low gas pressure inductively coupled plasma

Abstract

Remarkable changes of the electron temperature and the plasma density by increasing bias power were observed in low gas pressure inductively coupled plasma (ICP) by the measurement of electron energy distribution function (EEDF). As the bias power increases, the electron temperature increased with accompanying the evolution of the EEDF from a bi-Maxwellian to a Maxwellian distribution. However, a different trend of the plasma density was observed with a dependence on the ICP powers. When the ICP power was relatively small or the discharge is in capacitive mode (E mode), the plasma density increased considerably with the bias power, while decrease of the plasma density was observed when the discharge is in inductive mode (H mode). The change of the plasma density can be explained by the balance between total power absorption and power dissipation.