Effects of matching network on the hysteresis during E and H mode transitions in argon inductively coupled plasma

An experimental investigation of the hysteresis during the E (capacitive coupling) and H mode (inductive coupling) transitions at various matching situation in argon inductively coupled plasma is reported. At high pressure, the results show two hysteresis loops involved the plasma density, applied power, and forward power, as well as the electrical parameters in the discharge circuit, when the series capacitance is cycled. The measured electron density versus applied power shows that the hysteresis loop shrinks with the decrease of the matching capacitance, and the same trend is discovered on the input current, voltage, and phase angle. In addition, for the case of small capacitance, the current (or voltage) jumps to a low value when the discharge passes through the E to H mode transition regime. Contrarily, for the case of large capacitance, the current jumps to a high value while the voltage is almost constant. The evolution characteristics of the plasma and circuit parameters observed imply that the nonlinear behavior of the matching situation may be one of the determined factors for hysteresis. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3496385]