Influence of electrode configuration and discharge conditions on uniformity of capacitively coupled plasma

The impacts of the electrode configuration and discharge conditions, such as the pres sure and discharge power, on the characteristics of the 13.56 MHz capacitively co upled plasmas (CCP), including the distributions of electron temperature, electron density, and electron energy density, particularly plasma uniformity, were experim entally evaluated with Langmuir probe. The electrode types and alignment included the perforated electrode, pairs of electrodes, and distance between electrodes. Th e results show that the discharge conditions and electrode alignment have a majo r impact not only on the electron density, electron temperature, and electron ener gy density, but also on the plasma uniformity. For instance, two pairs of electrode increase the electron density from 77.9% to 93.5%, and a perforated electrode in creasesthe electron density from 77.9% to 96.4%. An increase of the discharge pow er resulted in higher electron density and electron energy density, but a lower uniformity.