Numerical Identification of Trivelpiece–Gould Waves in an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Etching Reactor

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sources have been widely used for ultra-large-scale integration manufacturing processes because of their wide operating range and excellent uniformity over 300- or 450-mm diameter wafer. However, microwave electromagnetic fields in magnetized plasma-filled reactors are not well understood because of the complexity of electromagnetic wave field analysis. We conducted microwave electromagnetic field analysis of an ECR plasma etcher by the finite-element method using a simulation platform. Complicated electric field patterns were clearly observed under some conditions. We investigated the patterns in detail to determine whether they were spurious or not. The patterns proved to be Trivelpiece-Gould waves according to their characteristics imposed by the dispersion relation of waves. This analysis approach is a powerful method because very fine-wave structures can be identified.