Measurements of neutral and ion composition, neutral temperature, and electron energy distribution function in a CF₄ inductively coupled plasma

The neutral number densities, ion number densities and electron energy distribution function (EEDF) were estimated in the CF₄ inductively coupled plasma. The degree of dissociation was found to vary inversely with plasma pressure. The neutral temperature was estimated to be upto 930 K at the neutral sampling aperture. The electron temperature varied with neutral number density, especially at low densities. The measurements prove that EEDF in the plasma obey Maxwell's equation for pressures higher than 3mTorr. The data was obtained for evaluation of absolute radical and ion fluxes to the surfaces and for relating etch characteristics to the discharge species.