Neutral Gas Dynamic Transport in a Model GEC Cell
Abstract
Experimental and numerical studies have been made of cold neutral rarefied gas dynamic flow in a model GEC RF cell. The cell uses the standard showerhead inlet in the upper electrode. Exhaust pumping is done through a side-mounted port, leading to the potential for (undesirable) highly non-uniform gas flow near the substrate. In addition, low pressure operating conditions lead to rarefied gas dynamic phenomena such as species separation and slip layers near the substrate surface. In the initial studies, experimental measurements of gas density profiles above the substrate have been obtained with the electron beam technique for a range of operating pressures and gases. Matching 2-d and 3-d direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) calculations have been made for quantitative comparison. Additional parametric calculations have been done to quantify the influence of operating conditions on transport through the cell, and ultimately on deposition characteristics on the substrate for this model problem. The present results are used to guide future experimental studies, with the ultimate objective of obtaining sufficient data to validate computational models required for increasingly accurate simulations of the complex ionized, chemically reacting, non-equilibrium flows present in realistic reactors.
- Publication:
-
APS Annual Gaseous Electronics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- October 1996
- Bibcode:
- 1996APS..GECTUPC05W