Ion energy distributions in bipolar pulsed DC discharges of methane measured at the biased cathode
Abstract
Ion processes at the growing surface of a depositing film are of huge importance in the achievement of special surface properties. The study of plasma processes at the sheath level complements the characterisation performed by other methods, and it provides a better assessment of the influence of deposition variables on material properties. Compact models of retarding field energy analysers (RFEA) are becoming popular instruments for measuring ion currents due to their rapid installation, high sensitivity to small currents and because no auxiliary pump is needed.
In this paper, the authors study the ion energy distributions (IED) of CH4 plasmas measured with a compact RFEA Semion system from Impedans Ltd placed at the biased electrode, which acts as cathode and coincides with the substrate location for DLC deposition.
SE01: Ion energy distributions in bipolar pulsed DC discharges of methane measured at the biased cathode
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