Review of inductively coupled plasmas: Nano-applications and bistable hysteresis physics

By Hyo-Chang Lee. 2018

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Many different gas discharges and plasmas exhibit bistable states under a given set of conditions, and the history-dependent hysteresis that is manifested by intensive quantities of the system upon variation of an external parameter has been observed in inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs). When the external parameters (such as discharge powers) increase, the plasma density increases suddenly from a low- to high-density mode, whereas decreasing the power maintains the plasma in a relatively high-density mode, resulting in significant hysteresis. To date, a comprehensive description of plasma hysteresis and a physical understanding of the main mechanism underlying their bistability remain elusive, despite many experimental observations of plasma bistability conducted under radio-frequency ICP excitation. This fundamental understanding of mode transitions and hysteresis is essential and highly important in various applied fields owing to the widespread use of ICPs, such as semiconductor/display/solar-cell pro...

Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/44567cd96bb758d29c20f98e1102ae6aedd62005