Investigations on the energy influx at plasma surface processes

A summary is given of different elementary processes influencing the therma l balance and energetic conditions of substrate surfaces during plasma proc essing. The discussed mechanisms include heat radiation, kinetic and potent ial energy of charged particles and neutrals as well as enthalpy of involve d chemical surface reactions. The energy and momentum of particles originat ing from the plasma or electrodes, respectively, influence via energy flux density (energetic aspect) and substrate temperature (thermal aspect) the s urface properties of the treated substrates. For a few examples as magnetro n sputtering of a-C:H films, sputter deposition of aluminum on micro-partic les, and atomic nitrogen recombination in an ECR plasma the energetic balan ce of substrates during plasma processing are presented.