A REDUCED-FLUID DYNAMIC DISCHARGE MODEL FOR APPLICATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY-ORIENTED COMPUTER-AIDED-DESIGN

A new, numerically efficient model for the technology-oriented simulat ion of capacitively coupled radio frequency discharges in the plasma d eposition regime (omega(Rf), = 13.56 MHz, p greater than or similar to 10 Pa) is presented. The approach is based on the fact that the domai n of the discharge can be clearly separated into the bulk, which amoun ts to nearly all of the volume and into relatively thin boundary sheat hs at the electrodes and walls. Length and time-scale arguments are em ployed to reduce the complexity of the bulk description from a full tw o-moment, fluid-dynamic model to a level which is comparable to that o f a conventional neutral gas simulation. Completed by the definition o f appropriate boundary conditions which reflect the dynamics in the sh eaths, we thereby obtain an effective drift-diffusion model which cuts the computational burden of discharge simulation by more than a facto r of 100. In spite of its reduced complexity, our model shows good qua ntitative agreement with the predictions of conventional fluid-dynamic models. Thus, it seems possible, for the first time, to incorporate t he simulation of plasma processes in the plasma-enhanced chemical vapo r deposition regime into a commercially utilized environment for techn ology-oriented computer-aided design.