Particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo simulation of a capacitively coupled radio frequency Ar/CF4 discharge: Effect of gas composition

A one-dimensional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo model is developed to study a capacitively coupled radio frequency discharge in a gas mixture of argon and CF4. The simulation takes into account the following charged particles: electrons, two kinds of positive ions (Ar+, CF3+), and two kinds of negative ions (F−, CF3−). The model considers electron–Ar collisions, electron−CF4 collisions, various kinds of collisions of CF3+, F−, CF3−, or Ar+ with Ar or CF4, and positive–negative ion recombination. The probability for the positive–negative ion recombination is determined from a recombination rate constant. The ion–neutral elastic and reactive collisions are simulated by an ion–molecule collision model for endothermic reactions. The typical results of this model are electron and ion densities, fluxes and energy distributions, collision rates, and electric field and potential distributions. The simulation is performed for 0.1/0.9, 0.5/0.5, and 0.9/0.1 ratios of a Ar/CF4 mixture, as well as for pure Ar and pure CF4 discharges at a pressure of 200 mTorr. It is observed that at high CF4 concentration the discharge behaves as a typical electronegative discharge and that CF3+ is the major positive ion. At low CF4 concentration, keeping the other operating parameters the same, the double layer structure and the electron density maxima at the bulk–sheath interface, which are representative for an electronegative discharge, disappear and the Ar+ density exceeds the CF3+ density by more than 1 order of magnitude. The results show that the F− ions are the dominant negatively charged species for all Ar/CF4 ratios investigated.