TY - JOUR
T1 - Study on initial growth of particles in low-pressure and low-power GeH4 RF discharges using the high-sensitivity photon-counting laser-light-scattering method
AU - Kawasaki, Hiroharu
AU - Sakamoto, Kazutaka
AU - Maeda, Shinichi
AU - Fukuzawa, Tsuyoshi
AU - Shiratani, Masaharu
AU - Watanabe, Yukio
PY - 1998/10/15
Y1 - 1998/10/15
N2 - A high-sensitivity photon-counting laser-light-scattering method is applied to obtain information on initial growth of particles formed in low pressure and low power GeH4 RF discharges. Particles of about 1 nm in size are detected principally around the plasma/sheath boundary near the RF electrode at an early time of 0.2 s after the discharge initiation and the corresponding particle density of 2 × 1011 cm-3 is about two orders of magnitude higher than ion density. Spatial profiles of particle amount are very similar to those of Ge emission intensity, which indicates a radical production rate. These results suggest that short-lifetime radicals such as GeH2, having a high production rate, are candidates for key species contributing to the nucleation and initial growth of particles, even for a low pressure (8-13 Pa) and a low power density (0.04 W/cm2). Furthermore, surface reflection probabilities of particles 1-12 nm in size, measured after RF-power-off, are found to be more than 80%.
AB - A high-sensitivity photon-counting laser-light-scattering method is applied to obtain information on initial growth of particles formed in low pressure and low power GeH4 RF discharges. Particles of about 1 nm in size are detected principally around the plasma/sheath boundary near the RF electrode at an early time of 0.2 s after the discharge initiation and the corresponding particle density of 2 × 1011 cm-3 is about two orders of magnitude higher than ion density. Spatial profiles of particle amount are very similar to those of Ge emission intensity, which indicates a radical production rate. These results suggest that short-lifetime radicals such as GeH2, having a high production rate, are candidates for key species contributing to the nucleation and initial growth of particles, even for a low pressure (8-13 Pa) and a low power density (0.04 W/cm2). Furthermore, surface reflection probabilities of particles 1-12 nm in size, measured after RF-power-off, are found to be more than 80%.
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U2 - 10.1143/jjap.37.l1264
DO - 10.1143/jjap.37.l1264
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0032179678
VL - 37
SP - L1264-L1267
JO - Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 2: Letters
JF - Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 2: Letters
SN - 0021-4922
IS - 10 SUPPL. B
ER -