Ion energy distribution and optical measurements in high-density, inductively coupled C4F6 discharges

Hexafluoro-1,3 butadiene (C4F6) is a potential etching gas with a very low global warming potential for the manufacturing of semiconductors, unlike commonly used fluorocarbon gases such as CF4 and c-C4F8. We report ion energy distributions, relative ion intensities and absolute total ion current densities measured at the edge of an inductively coupled gaseous electronics conference radio-frequency reference cell for discharges generated in pure C4F6 and C4F6:Ar mixtures. In addition, the ratio of radical densities relative to CF measured using submillimeter absorption spectroscopy and optical emission spectroscopy measurements are presented. These measurements of the C4F6 plasmas were made for several different gas pressures (0.67, 1.33, and 2.66 Pa) and gas mixture ratios (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% C4F6 volume fractions). (C) 2003 American Institute Of Physics.