Self-consistent global model for inductively coupled Cl2 plasma: Comparison with experimental data and application for the etch process analysis

The investigations of the influence of gas pressure and input power on the Cl2 plasma parameters in the inductively coupled plasma system were carried out. The investigations combined plasma diagnostics by Langmuir probe and plasma modeling using the self-consistent global model with Maxwellian approximation for electron energy distribution function. From the experiments, it was found that an increase of gas pressure in the range of 0.27–3.33 Pa at 400–700 W input power results in decreasing both electron temperature (3.3–2.0 eV) and density (6.6 × 1010 − 3.0 × 1010 cm− 3 for 400 W and 1.2 × 1011 − 6.4 × 1010 cm− 3 for 700 W). The model showed an outstanding agreement with the experiments and provided the data on densities and fluxes of active species. These data combined with the model of etch kinetics demonstrated the possibility of different etch rate behaviors depending on the input process parameters as well as on the properties of the etched surface.