Inductively coupled Ar/CH4/H2 plasmas for low-temperature deposition of ordered carbon nanostructures

The results of numerical simulations, optical emission spectroscopy (OES), and quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) of inductively coupled Ar/CH4/H2 plasmas in the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of self-assembled vertically aligned carbon nanostructures (CNs) are presented. A spatially averaged (global) discharge model is developed to study the densities and fluxes of the radical neutrals and charged species, the effective electron temperature, methane conversion factor under various growth conditions. The numerical results show a remarkable agreement with the OES and QMS data. It is found that the deposited cation fluxes in the PECVD of CNs generally exceed those of the radical neutrals.