Final Project Report for Grant DE-FG03-00ER54581 Selective Control of Chemical Reactions With Plasmas

OAK-B135 This research work focused on control of the reactive species inside a plasma through measurement and manipulation of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and on understanding the surface reaction mechanisms on the substrate exposed to a combination of ion and atom beam sources to simulate a real plasma. A GEC chamber (Gaseous Electronic Conference Reference Cell)8 with a mass spectrometer and a Langmuir probe (LP) system were used for this research. It was found that H2 and N2 additives to an Ar plasma could effectively change the EEDF and the average electron temperature (Te). This finding provides the possibility to selectively control reaction rates in the plasma to control etching selectivity on a surface. This concept was demonstrated in Ar/N2/H2 and Ar/CH4 /H2 systems