Optimization of the electrical asymmetry effect in dual-frequency capacitively coupled radio frequency discharges: Experiment, simulation, and model

An electrical asymmetry in capacitive rf discharges with a symmetrical electrode configuration can be induced by driving the discharge with a fundamental frequency and its second harmonic. For equal amplitudes of the applied voltage waveforms, it has been demonstrated by modeling, simulation, and experiments that this electrical asymmetry effect (EAE) leads to the generation of a variable dc self-bias that depends almost linearly on the phase angle between the driving voltage signals. Here, the dependence of the dc self-bias generated by the EAE on the choice of the voltage amplitudes, i.e., the ratio A of high to low frequency amplitude, is investigated experimentally as well as by using an analytical model and a particle-in-cell simulation. It is found that (i) the strongest electrical asymmetry is induced for A<1 at pressures ranging from 6 to 100 Pa and that (ii) around this optimum voltage ratio the dc self-bias normalized to the sum of both voltage amplitudes is fairly insensitive to changes of A. Thus, by choosing the optimum voltage ratio, the EAE is optimized: The ion energy can be changed over a broader energy range and a high degree of process stability with respect to small changes in the applied voltages is expected.