Correlating transient plasma parameters to electrical measurements in pulsed R.F. discharges

摘要

Electron density and electron temperature transients in pulsed RF discharges have been well characterized by several groups (1–3). These transients result in power coupling mismatch conditions which hamper power delivery accuracy and limit the integration of pulsed power delivery in some state of the art plasma source configurations, in particular those using multiple power supplies. To enable integration of pulsed power delivery in these systems, the electrical response of the plasma during transients is measured and compared to plasma conditions such as electron density, electron temperature, collision frequency, and sheath voltage; all of these contribute to the equivalent electrical impedance of the plasma as part of the RF power delivery circuit.