ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the effects of the plasma characteristics on plasma processing. The relevant characteristics include the mean free paths of ions, neutrals, and electrons; the effect of neutral gas pressure on radiofrequency (RF) power coupling to the plasma; the production of active species in the plasma by electron-neutral collisions; and the effect of a magnetic field on the relative composition of the active species. Industrial plasma processing may involve surface treatment, deposition, sputtering, etching, or other operations, with magnetron sputtering and microelectronic etching and deposition having the largest economic impacts. The Bohm sheath model predicts a floating potential for RF parallel-plate glow discharge plasmas approximately a factor of two lower than that of the low-voltage direct current sheath model. The magnetic confinement and magnetization of electrons in a glow discharge plasma can have significant effects on the relative concentrations of molecular fragments among its active species.
