Experimental characterization of a time-modulated inductively-coupled discharge

Summary form only given, as follows. The basic properties of a time modulated low pressure inductively-coupled plasma has been characterized by using various diagnostic tools, including a RF impedance meter, a Langmuir probe, a 36 GHz interferometer and optical emission spectroscopy. These tools have been modified from conventional ones to measure time resolved properties of the discharge. In addition to plasma density, plasma potential and electron temperature, the Langmuir probe has also been used to extract the electron energy probability function of the plasma. Measurement results show that high energy electrons are lost quickly after the driving RF power is turned off. The low energy part of the electrons remains nearly unchanged during the entire off period. The electron temperature thus drops quickly while plasma density changes little during the RF off period as observed in other studies. The spatial-temporal behavior of plasma density have also been measured.