Open AccessMagnetic control of nonlinear electron resonance heating in a capacitively coupled radio frequency discharge
Author(s) -
Moritz Oberberg,
Dennis Engel,
Birk Berger,
Christian Wölfel,
Denis Eremin,
Jan Lunze,
Ralf Peter Brinkmann,
Peter Awakowicz,
Julian Schulze
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plasma sources science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1361-6595
pISSN - 0963-0252
DOI - 10.1088/1361-6595/ab53a0
Subject(s) - excitation , magnetic field , atomic physics , plasma , electrode , radio frequency , capacitively coupled plasma , chemistry , physics , inductively coupled plasma , electrical engineering , quantum mechanics , engineering
In magnetized capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF) plasmas operated at low pressure, the magnetic asymmetry effect (MAE) provides the opportunity to control the discharge symmetry, the DC self-bias, and the ion energy distribution functions at boundary surfaces by adjusting a magnetic field, that is oriented parallel to the electrodes, at one electrode, while leaving it constant at the opposite electrode. This effect is caused by the presence of different plasma densities in regions of different magnetic field strength. Here, based on a balanced magnetron magnetic field configuration at the powered electrode, we demonstrate that the magnetic control of the plasma symmetry allows to tailor the generation of high frequency oscillations in the discharge current induced by the self-excitation of the plasma series resonance (PSR) through adjusting the magnetic field adjacent to the powered electrode. Experimental current measurements performed in an argon discharge at 1 Pa as well as results of an equivalent circuit model show that nonlinear electron resonance heating can be switched on and off in this way. Moreover, the self-excitation of the PSR can be shifted in time (within the RF period) and in space (from one electrode to the other) by controlling the discharge symmetry via adjusting the magnetic field.