PRAMANA c Indian Academy of Sciences Vol. 81, No.

1
journal of July 2013
physics pp. 157167
Microwave power coupling with electron cyclotron
resonance plasma using Langmuir probe
S K JAIN

, V K SENECHA, P A NAIK, P R HANNURKAR

and S C JOSHI
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore 452 013, India

Corresponding author. E-mail: skjain@rrcat.gov.in

MS received 14 April 2012; revised 16 January 2013; accepted 26 February 2013
Abstract. Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma was produced at 2.45 GHz using 200
750 W microwave power. The plasma was produced from argon gas at a pressure of 2 10
4
mbar. Three water-cooled solenoid coils were used to satisfy the ECR resonant conditions inside the
plasma chamber. The basic parameters of plasma, such as electron density, electron temperature,
oating potential, and plasma potential, were evaluated using the currentvoltage curve using a
Langmuir probe. The effect of microwave power coupling to the plasma was studied by varying
the microwave power. It was observed that the optimum coupling to the plasma was obtained for
600 W microwave power with an average electron density of 6 10
11
cm
3
and average
electron temperature of 9 eV.
Keywords. Electron cyclotron resonance plasma, Langmuir probe, electron density, electron
temperature.
PACS Nos 52.50.Dg; 52.70.m; 52.50.Sw
1. Introduction
The electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma is an established source for delivering
high current, high brightness, stable ion beam, with signicantly higher lifetime of the
source. Such a source has been widely used for producing singly and multiply charged
ion beams of low to high Z elements [13], for research in materials sciences, atomic
and molecular physics, and as an accelerator injector [4,5]. In an ECR plasma source, the
plasma is produced by the interaction of microwave radiation, in the presence of appro-
priate magnetic eld, under the cyclotron resonance condition (i.e. applied microwave
frequency equals cyclotron frequency). The seed electrons gyrate in the presence of
applied magnetic eld at the electron cyclotron frequency
ce
= Be/m, where
ce
is
the angular frequency of the cyclotron motion, e is the electron charge, m is the mass of
the electron, and B is the critical magnetic eld. The microwave power gets resonantly
coupled to the gyrating electrons when the microwave frequency equals the electron
DOI: 10.1007/s12043-013-0545-0; ePublication: 20 June 2013 157
S K Jain et al
cyclotron frequency,
rf
=
ce
. The electrons, in turn, transfer their energy to ionize
the neutral atoms by collisions, forming plasma [68], and leading to the absorption of
the microwave radiation [9]. To characterize the ECR plasma so produced, i.e. for mea-
suring the plasma parameters like electron density and electron temperature, Langmuir
probe has been widely used due to its simple construction and ease of data acquisition
from the plasma in terms of current and voltage, and the straightforward evaluation of the
plasma parameters from currentvoltage (I V) curve.
The main advantages of an ECR-based plasma source are: (a) it does not have any la-
ment to limit its life span, (b) it can be used under corrosive environment, and (c) plasma
parameters can be controlled by varying the gas pressure and the microwave power. The
microwaves are used in resonant mode to couple the electromagnetic energy to the plasma
for generating singly charged ions, and in higher order modes for generating multiply
charged ions. The coupling of the microwave energy with the plasma is through colli-
sionless waveelectron interaction which has higher efciency of energy coupling. On
the other hand, as the coupling of the microwave power depends on the inhomogeneous
plasma conditions as well on its connement due to non-uniform magnetic eld, it leads
to the partial reection of the incident microwave power due to improper impedance
matching [10]. However, this problem can be taken care of quite easily. This paper
describes the features of an ECR plasma source and the coupling of microwave power to
the plasma, studied with Langmuir probe I V curve.
2. Description of the system
The ECR plasma source at RRCAT, India, has been designed to extract a proton beam
current of 30 mA, at 50 keV beam energy [11]. Provisions have been made for the
diagnostics of the plasma. A schematic diagram of the ECR plasma source is shown
in gure 1. The system parameters of the ECR plasma source are given in table 1. The
overall length of the source is about 2 m. The major subsystems of the ECR plasma
source are: the microwave system, the plasma chamber, the solenoid coils and their power
supplies, gas feed system, water cooling unit, and Langmuir probe for plasma diagnos-
tics. The microwave system consists of a microwave generator (magnetron) and its power
supply [12], directional coupler (for power measurement), tuneable triple-stub tuner
(for impedance matching, plasma as a load), and microwave vacuum window (for vacuum
isolation between the plasma chamber and microwave system) [13]. These microwave
components were indigenously developed using a copper rectangular waveguide WR-284
of 72.14 mm 34.04 mm cross-section with a wall thickness of 2 mm. Although the
designated rectangular waveguide for 2.45 GHz is WR-340, WR-284 was used since its
cut-off frequency is 2.078 GHz and it is suitable to operate at average power levels up to
6 kW. The magnetron (Model NL10250 L) used for generating the microwave power at
2.45 GHz frequency had a maximum of 2 kW adjustable power. This magnetron requires
a high voltage (5 kV, 1 A DC) power supply for the cathode and a low voltage (5 V,
20 A AC) power supply for the lament, for energizing this magnetron. The power supply
with its interlock system has been developed indigenously. The microwave components,
the microwave coupling to the plasma chamber with waveguide launcher, and the reso-
nant plasma chamber as a cylindrical cavity, were optimized using CST microwave studio
158 Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013
Microwave power coupling with ECR plasma
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Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013 159
S K Jain et al
Table 1. The system parameters of the ECR plasma source at RRCAT.
System parameters Design parameters
Beam energy 50 keV
Beam current 30 mA
Frequency 2.45 GHz
Microwave power Adjustable up to 2 kW (CW)
Microwave feed WR-284 (72.14 mm 34.04 mm)
Gas pressure base 2 10
6
mbar
Axial magnetic eld 8751000 G
Duty factor 100% DC
Operating pressure 2 10
4
mbar
Gas Argon
software [14]. For plasma generation and connement, three water-cooled solenoid coils
were indigenously made, with soft iron to provide the return path for the magnetic ux
lines. The solenoid eld was calculated with Poisson code [15]. The measured magnetic
eld proles due to the three solenoid coils, at different currents, are shown in gure 2.
The plasma chamber has 100 mm diameter and 200 mm length, and the vacuum cham-
ber of cross-type structure with a number of diagnostics ports was fabricated in stainless
steel. The vacuum chamber had a turbomolecular pump to maintain the required vacuum
in the chamber. A standard gate valve was used between the vacuum chamber and the
turbomolecular pump to maintain a background vacuum in the plasma chamber when it
is not in operation.
Figure 2. The measured magnetic eld prole (due to the three solenoid coils) at
different coil currents.
160 Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013
Microwave power coupling with ECR plasma
To study the behaviour of the ECR plasma as an ion source, it is important to know
the electron density (n
i
= n
e
for singly-charged ions) and the electron temperature for
getting higher beam current, to use it as an injector for a Linac. Langmuir probe has been
widely used as a standard plasma diagnostics tool, to evaluate the electron density and
electron temperature of the plasma [1621] using I V curve. The probe was biased with
negative and positive voltages and the corresponding current owing through the probe
was recorded. The recorded I V curve was used to derive basic plasma parameters like
electron density, electron temperature, oating potential, and plasma potential.
3. Experimental set-up
A photograph of the complete experimental set-up of the ECR plasma source at RRCAT is
shown in gure 3. The system consists of a turbomolecular pump (TMP) with a roughing
pump (two-stage rotary) to maintain 2 10
6
mbar base pressure in the plasma cham-
ber. Argon gas was fed through a stainless steel tube (
1
/
4
inch in size) and the gas ow
was controlled using a high precision needle valve. Consistent plasma discharges were
obtained by varying the magnetic eld, gas pressure, and microwave power. The magnetic
eld variation was small and close to 875 G (electron cyclotron resonance at 2.45 GHz).
The gas pressure was varied from 10
3
to 10
5
mbar and the microwave power was var-
ied from 200 to 750 W. During the course of experiment, reected power was monitored
using a directional coupler. It was maintained at less than 10% of the input power using
triple stub tuner acting as a matching network for plasma as a load. The reected power
was dumped into a water-cooled ferrite isolator with a dummy load. The isolator pro-
tects the source from reected power. It allows the microwave propagation in the forward
Figure 3. The photograph of the complete experimental set-up of the ECR plasma
source at RRCAT.
Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013 161
S K Jain et al
direction while the reected power gets directed towards the dummy load. The magnetic
eld was kept slightly higher near the microwave window to avoid ECR breakdown at the
window to protect it from damage. A solenoid current of 50 A was used in the experiment
to satisfy the ECR resonant conditions. The optical emissions from the plasma display
the characteristics of the gas used, e.g. blue for argon plasma and pink for hydrogen
plasma.
4. Plasma characterization with Langmuir probe
A Langmuir probe has been designed and fabricated in-house to determine the fundamen-
tal plasma parameters. It has a tungsten wire of 0.3 mm diameter and 5 mm length, spot
welded on a semi-rigid coaxial cable, connected to a N-type connector for electrical bias-
ing. The quartz cap was used to enclose the initial part of the stainless steel tube except
the probe tip to avoid direct bombardment of the electrons on the assembly of the probe
and to minimize the heat ux to the probe in order to avoid damage. The photograph and
the electrical biasing circuit for the Langmuir probe are shown in gure 4. The probe
was placed axially (parallel to the chamber axis), using the ve-port ange shown at the
extreme right in gure 1. The probe was vacuum-sealed using a Wilson seal arrangement.
Figure 4. (a) Photograph and (b) the electrical biasing circuit for the Langmuir probe.
162 Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013
Microwave power coupling with ECR plasma
It was placed in a eld-free region to avoid any instability at the probe tip due to the mag-
netic eld. The plasma parameters were determined from the I V curve of the Langmuir
probe. The electron current I
e
is given by the expression
I
e
= I
e0
exp
_
e
_
V
probe

p
_
kT
e
_
, (1)
where V
probe
is the probe voltage and
p
is the plasma potential. The electron density N
e
is determined from the ion saturation current I
is
given by
I
is
= 0.5eN
e
A
_
_
(kT
e
)
M
i
_
, (2)
where A is the probe area and M
i
is the ion mass. The electron temperature T
e
is deter-
mined from the inverse slope of the electron current (log scale) vs. probe voltage (linear)
plot, and it is given by
T
e
=
(e/k)
_
ln(I
e
)/V
probe
_
.
(3)
5. Results and discussion
The experiment was carried out with argon gas at a pressure of 2 10
4
mbar. The
source was operated in resonant conditions of the magnetic eld. All the three solenoid
coils were independently energized and tuned at a solenoid current up to 50 A. The
measurements were carried out for both positive and negative bias up to the ion and
electron saturation current. The probe current was recorded for different probe voltages.
The voltage to the probe was applied using a standard bipolar power supply. I V curve
obtained from the Langmuir probe for argon plasma is shown in gure 5. This I V curve
was used for determining the oating potential, plasma potential, ion saturation current,
and electron saturation current. To evaluate the electron temperature by the graphical
method, the variation of the electron current (natural log) with the probe voltage (linear
scale) was plotted, as shown in gure 6. Parametric studies were carried out to optimize
the plasma parameters.
The oating potential, the plasma potential, the ion saturation current, and the electron
saturation current obtained from the I V curve are 34 V, 25 V, 850 A, and 5.5 mA
respectively. The higher value of electron saturation current obtained experimentally is
quite reasonable, as expected theoretically. Here, the electron saturation current was
recorded, just fewvolts above the plasma potential, to avoid excessive heating of the probe
tip, which leads to its melting. Experimentally, range of electron density and electron tem-
perature (29) 10
11
cm
3
and 315 eV respectively was obtained with the variation of
microwave power. The average electron density of 6 10
11
cm
3
, which is beyond the
cut-off electron density of 7.5 10
10
cm
3
and with average electron temperature of
9 eV, was obtained at 600 W of microwave power. The above range of electron density
is also suitable for ECR plasma-based applications like high-quality conductive/thin lm
Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013 163
S K Jain et al
Figure 5. I V curve obtained from the Langmuir probe for argon plasma.
deposition [22,23], reactive ion (sputter) etching [24,25], molecular beam epitaxy [26,27],
ion implantation [28,29] etc.
Using the I V curve of the Langmuir probe, the electron density and electron tem-
perature were evaluated at different values of the microwave power. The variation of
the electron density, the electron temperature, and the product of electron density and
electron temperature, with the coupled microwave power (P
c
= P
in
P
r
) is shown in
Figure 6. The variation of the electron current (log scale) with probe voltage (linear
scale).
164 Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013
Microwave power coupling with ECR plasma
Figure 7. The variation of (a) the electron density, (b) electron temperature, and
(c) product of electron density and electron temperature, with the coupled microwave
power.
Pramana J. Phys., Vol. 81, No. 1, July 2013 165
S K Jain et al
gures 7a, b and c respectively. This variation shows that the electron density and the
electron temperature can be controlled by varying the microwave power. The electron
density was found to increase non-linearly with increase in microwave power (gure 7a),
and the electron temperature was found to decrease with increase in the microwave power
(gure 7b). A similar variation in the electron density and the electron temperature with
respect to the microwave power has been reported in various experiments [30,31], and has
been explained in terms of two heating modes. There is an alternate phenomenological
explanation for the observed behaviour of electron density and electron temperature. For
a given absorbed power, the energy will be shared by the electrons to have same temper-
ature everywhere in a given plasma volume. As the power is increased, the product of
electron density and electron temperature should increase linearly with power, as it repre-
sents the total energy of the plasma electrons. This linear dependence is seen in gure 7c.
As the microwave power is increased, the excursion length of the electrons oscillating
in the microwave eld increases, thereby increasing the frequency of collisions with the
plasma ions/neutrals, leading to faster ionization (i.e. higher electron density). As the
increase of electron density with microwave power is linear (as seen in gure 7a), and as
the energy is shared by much more number of electrons than the increase in input power
(energy), the electron temperature decreases, as seen in gure 7b. A consistent plasma
discharge was also seen when the source was operated at higher magnetic elds.
6. Conclusion
A study of microwave power coupling to electron cyclotron resonance plasma was per-
formed using a Langmuir probe. It was observed that, with increasing microwave power,
the electron density of the plasma increases and the electron temperature decreases. It
was also observed that the optimum coupling to the plasma was obtained at 600 W
microwave power, with an average electron temperature of 9 eV and an average electron
density of 6 10
11
cm
3
.
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