Rapid electron density decay observed by surface-wave probe in afterglow of pulsed fluorocarbon-based plasma

To elucidate the pulsed fluorocarbon plasma behavior, a surface-wave probe with high time resolution was used to measure the electron density n e in the afterglow of plasma. In a dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma of fluorocarbon chemistry, e.g., an O2-based C4F6 and Ar mixture, n e vanished rapidly in a short time (~5 µs), whilst the dc current flowing onto the top electrode biased at −300 V decreased very slowly (decay time ~70 µs). This observation is clear evidence of ion–ion plasma formation by electron attachment in the afterglow. We point out that the electron attachment rates for fluorocarbon radicals significantly affect the electrons and ion–ion plasma behaviors observed at the afterglow phase.