A dc plasma chemical vapor deposition chamber utilizing a streaming neutral gas injection cathode

Abstract

A device that creates a high neutral density region by utilizing a millimeter-size diameter nozzle hollow carbon cathode for gas injection was designed and constructed. It was shown that this system is capable of operating both in the dc and arc discharge regimes. DSMC simulation of the cathode showed that at the nozzle exit, the pressure reached up to 2 orders of magnitude greater than the ambient. This phenomenon allowed the system to operate in arc discharge mode. Spectroscopic analysis qualitatively showed that the plasma density of the arc mode discharge was far much higher than a discharge in the normal dc glow. This allowed the sputtering of the cathode that was considered useful for many material science applications such as the growth of carbon nanostructures.