Electrical Characteristics of the GEC Reference Cell with Impedance Matching: A Two-Dimensional PIC/MCC Modeling Study

TL;DR

This study uses a 2D PIC/MCC model to analyze the electrical behavior of the GEC reference cell with impedance matching, providing insights into plasma kinetics and circuit responses relevant for semiconductor processing.

Contribution

It introduces a coupled electrostatic PIC/MCC model that includes external circuit effects for the GEC reference cell, enhancing understanding of impedance matching in plasma reactors.

Findings

Model shows good agreement with experimental data

Provides detailed external circuit response analysis

Reveals plasma kinetics at low pressure

Abstract

In this paper, the electrical characteristics of the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) reference cell with impedance matching are investigated through a two-dimensional electrostatic implicit Particle-in-Cell/Monte Carlo Collision (PIC/MCC) model in an axisymmetric coordinate system. The coupling between the complex reactor geometry and the external circuit is included via an equivalent capacitance calculated from the electric energy density. The results of this model are compared with experimental measurements and other model calculations and show good agreement. This simulation obtains the plasma kinetics of the capacitively coupled discharge process at low pressure and detailed external circuit responses, including power transmission, reflection, and higher-order harmonics in the circuit, which provides important insights for impedance-matching design in semiconductor plasma processing.