TE/sub 01/ excitation of an electron cyclotron resonance plasma source

The uniformity of plasma generation in electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) reactors for materials processing, and the subsequent uniformity of fluxes to the substrate, are generally a function of the mode of the microwave radiation injected into the chamber. In the paper, a finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation is used to demonstrate the consequences of exciting an ECR reactor using a TE/sub 01/ mode. Due to the off axis peak in the electric field, power deposition and the plasma density peak off axis. Diffraction of the field around the resonance zone produces a secondary maximum in electron density downstream.