Negative resistance phenomenon in dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system for photovoltaic manufacturing process

Abstract

The validity of effective frequency concept is investigated for dual-frequency (DF) capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) discharges by using particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision simulations. This concept helps in analyzing DF CCP discharges in a fashion similar to single-frequency (SF) CCP discharges with effective parameters. Unlike the driving frequency of SF CCP discharges, the effective frequency in DF CCP is dependent on the ratio of the two driving currents (or voltages) and this characteristic makes it possible to control the ion flux and the ion bombardment energy independently. This separate control principally allows to increase the ion flux and plasma density for high deposition rates, while keeping the ion mean energy constant at low values to prevent the bombardment of highly energetic ions at the substrate surface to avoid unwanted damage in the solar cell manufacturing. The abrupt transition of the effective frequency leads to the phenomenon of negative resistance which is one of the several physical phenomena associated uniquely with DF CCP discharges. Using effective frequency concept, the plasma characteristics have been investigated in the negative resistance regime for solar cell manufacturing. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3679107]