Comparison of circular TM/sub 01/ and TM/sub 11/ modes generated electron cyclotron resonance microwave discharges-a Monte Carlo simulation study

Summary form only given. Plasma density, ionization percentage, and electron energy distribution (EED) are the concerning factors of plasma sources for various industrial applications. It has been shown experimentally that the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR); plasma can be generated in low background pressure conditions and has high plasma density. The numerical simulation further indicates that the EED of an ECR plasma has a high energy tail, and can be characterized by two temperature components. In this study, the electron behavior in two ECR microwave discharges maintained, respectively, by the TM/sub 01/ and TM/sub 11/ mode fields of a cylindrical waveguide have been investigated via Monte Carlo simulations. Since ECR microwave discharge has high degree of ionization (>1%), a self-consistent simulation of the plasma dynamics is achieved through the use of the ponderomotive and grad-B forces. Accumulation of negative charges on the boundary surface sets up a sheath whose influence is also taken into account. The time averaged, spatially dependent EED is computed self-consistently by integrating electron trajectories subjected to the microwave fields, the divergent background magnetic field, the space charge field, and the sheath field, and taking into account electron-electron collisions and collisions with the neutral hydrogen atoms.