Control of the plasma chemistry of a pulsed inductively coupled methane plasma

The plasma chemistry in a pulsed inductively coupled plasma from methane is investigated. The densities of stable neutrals up to C 4 H 10 are measured using quantitative mass spectrometry. It is demonstrated that the plasma composition for neutral species depends uniquely on the dissipated energy per source gas molecule, E mean . This quantity can most easily be controlled by changing plasma power, gas flow or duty cycle of the pulsed plasma.