Production of Large-Diameter Uniform Plasma in mTorr Range Using Microwave Discharge

A large-diameter uniform plasma is obtained by microwave discharge without the use of magnetic fields at pressures in the mTorr range. Microwave fields at 2.45 GHz are radiated from a multislotted planar antenna located a short distance above the glass window of a discharge chamber. Overdense plasmas are produced with ± 3–4% uniformity of ion saturation current over 30 cm diameter for wide ranges of microwave power and gas pressure. The discharge can be started up at pressures as low as 0.5 mTorr. The efficient production of overdense plasmas is investigated by measuring microwave field propagation in the system.