Frequency effects in capacitively coupled radio-frequency glow discharges: A comparison between experiments and a two-dimensional fluid model

The results of a two-dimensional fluid model for argon rf discharges in a closed cylindrical vacuum chamber are compared with experimental data from an amorphous silicon deposition reactor. Good agreement is obtained for the relation between the dc autobias voltage and the dissipated power in the frequency range 50-100 MHz at pressures between 12 and 90 Pa. A scaling law is presented for the relation between the power, the dc bias voltage, the rf excitation frequency, and the background pressure. The model yields a linear relation between the applied rf voltage and the dc bias voltage. This relation depends only on the geometry of the discharge chamber and shows an offset.