The Effect of a Multihollow Cathode on the Self-Bias Voltage of Methane RF Discharge Used for a-C:H Deposition

S. Djerourou, K. Henda, M. Djebli

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DOI: 10.4236/jmp.2011.29113                

Abstract

In this work we report the measurement of the self-bias voltage of radiofrequency (RF) capacitevely coupled plasma, with a multihollow cathode and methane precursor, used for amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a- C:H) thin film deposition. The plasma is produced in the incident power and pressure ranges between 20 - 300 W and 10 - 100 mTorr, respectively. It was found that the self-bias voltage V_dc is a linear function of the square root of the incident power W_RF. The relationship between the self-bias voltage and gas pressure P is established; this gives an empirical relation for (p/p₀)^y . From this result, the pressure p₀ corresponding to the transition from hollow cathode effect to hollow cathode arc effect is determined.

Keywords

Multihollow Cathode, RF (13.56 MHz) Discharge, CH₄ Plasma, Self-Bias Voltage, a-C:H.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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