Glow discharges electron densities

In the early 1970s, Spear and coworkers (Spear, 1974 Le Comber et al., 1974), although unaware of the presence of hydrogen, demonstrated a substantial reduction in the density of gap states (with a corresponding improvement in the electronic transport properties) in amorphous silicon films that were deposited from the decomposition of silane (SiH4) in an rf glow discharge. 

In thin film processes for microelectronic applications, we deal almost exclusively with glow discharges. These plasmas are characterized by pressures in the range of 50 mTorr to 5 Torr, electron densities between 10 and 10 cm , and average electron energies between 1 and 10 eV (such ener-... 

H. A. Weakliem, Diagnostics of Silane Glow Discharges Using Probes and Mass Spectroscopy L. Gluttman, Relation between the Atomic and the Electronic Structures A. Chenevas-Paute, Experiment Determination of Structure 5. Minomura, Pressure Effects on the Local Atomic Structure D. Adler, Defects and Density of Localized States... 

Figure 1. A nonrelativistic window of the temperature—composition plane, showing electron density (n) and temperature (T). Normal conditions (on earth) for semiconductors and elemental metals and conditions on the Sun, Jupiter, and the White Dwarf are shown. Experimental methods in A, B, C, and D are Tokamak, glow-discharge, laser fusion, and degenerate strongly coupled plasma, respectively. Wigner—Seitz radii, rs, are also shown (adapted from Redmei4).

Figure 3.5 Distribution profile of electron density in an argon DC glow discharge in a plasma polymerization reactor.

Figure 15.4 Electron temperature (eV) and electron density ( /cm ) versus axial distance (from cathode to anode) for two radial positions (R) in Ar DC glow discharge lOW, 2 seem, SOmtorr, and 76 mm electrode distance.

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