Inductively coupled Cl2/O2 plasma:: experimental investigation and modelling

In this work, we investigated the influence of the Cl-2/O-2 mixing ratio on both the plasma parameters and the volume densities of the neutral and the charged particles in inductively coupled plasma system. The change in the gas mixture composition from pure Cl-2 to O-2 was found to lead to an increase in the electron density and in the electron temperature. Accordingly, the addition of oxygen to chlorine influences electron-impact dissociation kinetics as well as it can cause a stepwise dissociation of Cl-2 molecules through their interaction with oxygen atoms. As a result, in Cl-2-rich plasma, a non-monotonic behaviour of the Cl atom density is possible. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.