Effective design of multiple hollow cathode electrode to enhance the density of rf capacitively coupled plasma

Multiple-hole electrode rf capacitively coupled plasma is experimentally studied to determine the optimum condition for high-density plasma discharge. The plasma density was measured at various pressures, hole diameters, rf currents, and gas species conditions. The bulk plasma intrusion in the hole and the ionization avalanche in the sheath region facilitated high-density plasma generation when the diameter of the hole is slightly wider than triple the sheath length. The analytic design of the efficient multihole electrode for high-density rf capacitively coupled plasma discharge will be discussed. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3480409]