AltaSim Runs Plasma Analyses with Simulation

Luke T. Gritter, Sergei Yushanov, Jeffrey S. Crompton, and Kyle C. Koppenhoefer
AltaSim Technologies
Columbus, OH

AltaSim Technologies provides engineering consulting services involving advanced multiphysics modeling such as capacitively coupled plasma (CCP). Plasma etching and deposition of thin films, critical processes in the manufacture of advanced microelectronic devices, commonly utilize CCP, in which the plasma is initiated and sustained by an oscillating electric field between two or more electrodes.

Analysis of CCP is difficult due to the dynamic behavior of the plasma and the large number of RF cycles necessary to reach a periodic steady state. By performing one- and two-dimensional simulations of low-frequency RF discharges in axisymmetric CCP reactors for Maxwellian and non-Maxwellian cases using COMSOL Multiphysics, AltaSim Technologies has developed simulations which can be used to assist with the development of new CCP processing technology.