Spatial Distribution and Transport of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Generated Using Dominant-Mode Microwave

Abstract

The relationship between the plasma uniformity and the microwave electric field was investigated for various levels of microwave power by introducing only the dominant-mode microwave: either the circular TE 11 mode or the rectangular TE 10 mode. The plasma uniformity was found to change in three stages according to the electron density depending on the microwave transmission characteristics in the plasma. The fluctuations of the plasma emission were also investigated in several types of discharges. A fixed spatial distribution of the microwave electric field was found to be effective for stabilizing the plasma. The high-density plasma above 1×10 11 cm -3 was found to be more stable.