Langmuir probe analysis of highly

electronegative plasmas
Cite as: Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 154107 (2013); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4802252
Submitted: 04 February 2013 . Accepted: 04 April 2013 . Published Online: 18 April 2013

Jerome Bredin, Pascal Chabert, and Ane Aanesland

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Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 154107 (2013); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4802252 102, 154107

© 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

 APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 102, 154107 (2013)

Langmuir probe analysis of highly electronegative plasmas

Jerome Bredin,a) Pascal Chabert, and Ane Aanesland
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France
(Received 4 February 2013; accepted 4 April 2013; published online 18 April 2013)
A Langmuir probe analysis of highly electronegative plasmas is proposed. Analytical models are
used to fit the IV-characteristics and their second derivatives above and below the plasma potential.
Ion and electron densities are obtained for a (negative ion to electron density ratio) up to 3000, and
the temperature of negative and positive ions is obtained for a ranging from 100 to 3000. The
transport across a localized magnetic barrier is studied using this technique. It is shown that an
ion-ion (electron free) plasma is formed downstream from the barrier at the highest magnetic field.
C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4802252]
V

Electronegative plasmas are characterized by the ratio
between the negative ion and electron densities (a ¼ n =ne )
and the ratio between the electron and ion temperatures
(c ¼ Te =T ). Strongly electronegative plasmas, where the
electron density is negligible, are typically called ion-ion
plasmas in the literature.
Ion-ion plasmas have been studied by simulations1 and
experiments2–7 and are formed either in the afterglow of
pulsed electronegative plasmas or downstream of magnetic
barriers. Historically, ion-ion plasmas are identified experi-
mentally by measuring symmetrical characteristics using a
Langmuir probe.8–10 Classical probe theories cannot be used
to analyze these characteristics as the current of negative
charge is supplied by electrons and negative ions.
Approximate theories for electronegative plasmas have been
proposed,11–13 but suffer from simplifications in the ion
bohm speed and/or the effective probe area. In general, the
models only treat the part of the curve where electrons are
repelled by the probe potential.
The approach used in the literature for analyzing probe
data taken in electronegative plasmas can be divided into
two groups. (i) calculating a via the saturation currents8,14–16
and (ii) calculating the electron and negative ion densities
via the second derivative (i.e., the energy distribution func-
tion (EDF)).3,11–13,17–20 In the first approach, the method
involves using two different probes for the positive satura-
tion current and the current measured at the plasma potential,
or using argon to determine the effective ratio of positive
and negative collecting areas. The validity of this analysis
has been extensively discussed for low alpha’s (<100 in the
most optimistic view).14,21 In the other approach, the two
distinct peaks measured in the EDF and attributed to elec-
trons and negative ions have only been observed in high
pressure cases, above a 80 mTorr, and cannot be used for
low pressure situations.
The purpose of this paper is to develop a theory for
Langmuir probe characteristics in low-pressure electronega-
tive plasmas. The approach is to develop an analytical model
to fit both the IV-characteristic and the measured second de-
rivative. We show that the ion and electron densities can be
determined for alpha’s from 0 to 3000, while the temperature
of positive and negative ions can be determined for a > 100.
The experiments are performed in a planar inductively
coupled plasma source excited at 4 MHz.22 Figure 1 shows
the source with a rectangular geometry of 12 by 12 by 8 cm
(respectively x, y, and z). A strongly attaching gas, SF6, is
injected into the source by 16 holes evenly distributed along
the two side walls. The magnetic barrier is formed by two
permanent neodymium magnets. The maximum strength on
axis is 245 G at 7.5 cm from the excitation coil. The magnetic
field lines are also shown on Figure 1. The experiments are
performed with a discharge power of 120 W and a neutral gas
pressure of 1 mTorr. The Langmuir probe used here is
designed for measurements in magnetized plasma.22,23 The
probe holder is a double bore quartz capillary of 1.65 mm in
diameter in which two tungsten wires of 0.2 mm diameter are
inserted. The probe tips are welded on the tungsten wire and
lead to the plasma by two quartz capillaries of 0.2 mm diame-
ter. They are made of Platinum-Iridium and are 5 lm in diam-
eter and 6 mm long (Pt-Ir is not etched by SF6).
The measurements themselves present several chal-
lenges: (i) the plasma potential fluctuations need to be
smaller than the electron temperature, (ii) the measurement
through a magnetic field require the probe radius to be less

FIG. 1. Schematic diagram of the rectangular ferrite enhanced ICP source.

The field lines are shown for the transverse magnetic field barrier where the
a)
jerome.bredin@lpp.polytechnique.fr. URL: http://www.lpp.fr/ maximum field on axis is 245 G at 7.5 cm.

0003-6951/2013/102(15)/154107/5/$30.00 102, 154107-1 C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

V
154107-2 Bredin, Chabert, and Aanesland Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 154107 (2013)

than the electron Larmor radii when measuring perpendicu- strong production of negative ions by the electrons of moder-
lar to the magnetic field lines, and (iii) the probe system ate energy (1–5 eV), (ii) small Larmor radii particles (the
requires a dynamic range able to measured small currents electrons) are trapped in the magnetic field lines while large
accurately. These difficulties have been overcome in electro- Larmor radii particles (the negative ions) are not affected by
positive plasmas, and the details of the technique have been the magnetic field barrier and efficiently transport across.
described previously.22 We propose in the following an analysis of the signals to
Figure 2(a) shows the electron energy probability func- extract the temperatures and densities of the electrons and
tion (EEPF), f(V), obtained for various positions along the the positive and negative ions. The total current-voltage
x-axis. In this case, a standard analysis of the characteristic characteristics is defined as
is performed, such that the EEPF is given by
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi IðVÞ ¼ Ie ðVÞ þ I ðVÞ þ Iþ ðVÞ; (2)
2 2me d 2 I
f ðVÞ ¼ 3=2 ; (1)
e S dV 2 where Ie, I , and Iþ are the current due to electrons, negative
and positive ions, respectively. Below the plasma potential
and is proportional to the second derivative of the I-V char- Vp, the negative charges (electrons and negative ions) are
acteristics.23 The EEPF is nearly Maxwellian at 5 cm, but as repelled from the probe, and we assume the following
the probe goes through the maximum of the magnetic field Boltzmann relations:
(located at 7.5 cm), the EEPF starts to exhibit two popula-
tions. Figure 2(b) shows the spatial evolution of the electron  
eAnev e Vp  V
density obtained from the integration over the EEPF (follow- Ie ðVÞ ¼ exp ; (3)
4 Te
ing the usual treatment detailed in Ref. 23). This treatment
 
assumes that the two populations are electrons, which, as we Vp  V
demonstrate below cannot be. First, the I-V characteristics I ðVÞ ¼ I ðVp Þexp ; (4)
T
becomes symmetrical in this region, indicating that the cur-
rent of negative charges is produced by charges having where e is the elementary charge, A ¼ 2pla þ 2pa2 is the
masses and temperatures comparable to that of positive ions, probep surface, with ffi a the probe radius and l the probe length,
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
i.e., negative ions. Second, it appears that the hot population v e ¼ 8eTe =pme is the electron thermal velocity, and
(the electrons) vanishes drastically between 6.6 cm and I ðVp Þ is the current at the plasma potential given by Eq.
7.5 cm, while the cold population (the negative ions) varies (13). The positive charges are attracted to the probe and we
very little or even increases. This is consistent with: (i) a assume that the current has the following form:

Iþ ðVÞ ¼ hr nþ euBþ Ssh ðVÞ; (5)

where hr ¼ 0:6 is the edge-to-center positive ion density ra-

tio calibrated with Argon measurements and

Ssh ðVÞ ¼ 2plrc ðVÞ þ 2prc2 ðVÞ (6)

is the probe effective collection area. This area is different

from the probe area because a significant positive ion sheath
forms in front of the probe; the size of this sheath is
s ¼ rc ðVÞ  a. At the sheath edge, positive ions have the
modified Bohm speed
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1 þ as
uBþ ¼ eTe =mþ ; (7)
1 þ cas

where as is the electronegativity at the sheath edge, related

FIG. 2. (a) The EEPF for various positions along the x-axis and (b) the elec-
tron density obtained from classical treatments of the EEPF along the x-axis.
to that in the center by as ¼ a0 expð/s =Te ð1  cÞÞ, where /s
is the potential at the sheath/plasma boundary.24 The depend-
ence of the sheath size to the probe voltage remains to be
specified. We use a Child-Law model in cylindrical coordi-
nates. The space variable r is defined in the interval
a < r < R, where R is a constant such as R > rsh . The ion
energy conservation reads
1
mþ u2 ðrÞ ¼ eUðrÞ: (8)
2
Using E ¼ dU=dr, we write
154107-3 Bredin, Chabert, and Aanesland Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 154107 (2013)

 
du eE V  Vp
¼ : (9) Iþ ðVÞ ¼ Iþ ðVp Þ exp ; (14)
dr MuðrÞ Tþ

Gauss’s law reads where Iþ ðVp Þ is the current at the plasma potential given by
dE enðrÞ E Eq. (5).
¼  : (10) The model allows the I-V characteristics to be calcu-
dr 0 r
lated with the following variables: ne, nþ , n , Te, Tþ , T ,
Using ion current continuity in the sheath (no ionization), mþ , and m . The strategy is to change those variables and
rJðrÞ ¼ RJ0 , with J0 ¼ hr neuBþ the ion current at the sheath parameters to obtain the best fit with experimental signals.
edge, (10) may be written To achieve this, we fit both the I-V characteristics and their
second derivatives. The number of variables and parameters
dE RJ0 E are reduced, first by using quasi-neutrality nþ ¼ ne þ n and
¼  : (11)
dr r0 uðrÞ r second by setting the ion masses. The ion composition is
very complex, and we assume that the dominant positive
The numerical integration of (9) and (11) gives rsh ðVÞ. ions are SFþ 
5 while the dominant negative ions are SF5 . The
Now the currents collected above Vp needs to be speci- masses used in this Letter are, therefore, m6 ¼ 127 AMU. In
fied. The negative charges are attracted to the probe, and the the first order, the saturation currents of the IV-characteristic
electron saturation current is classically written24 and the second derivatives are sensitive to the densities and
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi the temperatures, respectively. The error bars for the fitted
v e ðV  Vp Þ=Te parameters are estimated to be within 5%.
Ie ðVÞ ¼ ne eA 2
2 p Figures 3 shows the measured and fitted I-V characteris-
  rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi tics and second derivatives, where (a) and (b) are obtained at
V  Vp V  Vp
þexp erfc : (12) 10 cm, and (c) and (d) obtained at 5 cm away from the
Te Te
ceramic window. A very good agreement is obtained both in
the ion-ion plasma condition with symmetrical characteristics
The negative ion current is written as the positive ion current
((a) and (b)), and in the region of higher electron currents ((c)
for Vp < V,
and (d)), showing that the model is appropriate in a large
I ðVÞ ¼ hr n euB Ssh ðVÞ; (13) range of a.
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Measurements were taken every 5 mm to obtain the gra-
where uB ¼ eTþ =m and Ssh ðVÞ remains the probe effec- dients of density and temperature of the charged-particles.
tive collection area, calculated from rsh ðVÞ for V > Vp using Figure 4(a) shows the ion and electron density along the
the mass of negative ions. The positive ions are repelled x-axis. Note that on the figure, the electron density is dis-
from the probe and follow a Boltzmann relation: played twice: nEEPF is the standard analysis presented in

FIG. 3. Results of the model (red) super-

posed to the measurements (blue). (a)
and (b) are the I-V characteristics and its
second derivative, respectively, at 10 cm
away from the ceramic window, and
(c) and (d) are the equivalent at 5 cm.
154107-4 Bredin, Chabert, and Aanesland
FIG. 4. Evolution of (a) the densities of the different species given by the
model in circle, the electron density given by the EEPF in square and a in
the inserted graph, and (b) the evolution of the different species temperatures
in the ion-ion region.
Figure 2 while ne is calculated by the theory of this Letter.
The heating by the radio-frequency electromagnetic field is
localized in the skin depth, which is in the first few centi-
meters away from the dielectric window. From 0 to 4 cm, the
electron density is fairly constant and there is no difference
between the two treatments, nEEPF  ne . However, in the
region within and downstream of the magnetic barrier, ne
is one order of magnitude lower than nEEPF because nEEPF
erroneously incorporated the contribution of negative ions.
The electron density drops by two orders of magnitude
between 5 cm and 8.5 cm. The inserted graph in Figure 4(a)
shows that the heating (upstream) region, the electronegativ-
ity is modest, a  5, but it drastically increases in the mag-
netic barrier region to reach a  2500 at x ¼ 8:5 cm and
decreases downstream of the magnetic field. Two local maxi-
mum are observed in the ion densities, one at 1.5 cm at
around 8  1017 m3, due to the ionization region. Another
one is located at 6 cm at around 3  1017 m3, just before the
maximum magnetic field, which might be due to potential
structures. In the downstream region, ion densities decay due
to surface wall losses and volume recombination.
Figure 4(b) shows temperature of electrons and ions as a
function of x. The electron temperature is also displayed twice:
TEEPF is obtained from the integral of the distribution f(V)
define by Eq. (1) (the standard analysis) while Te is calculated
by the theory of this Letter. There is almost no difference in
the two treatments upstream and across the magnetic barrier.
However, Te remains higher than TEEPF downstream. The
Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 154107 (2013)
electron temperature decreases continuously from the source
region to the location of the maximum magnetic field ampli-
tude, at 7.5 cm. The electron temperature decreases further
downstream, but with a lower slope, as observed in argon.22
The ion temperatures could not be determined in the
source region, where a < 100, due to the dominant electron
contribution on the second derivative. The temperature of
positive and negative ions are around 0.5 eV in the magnetic
barrier (around 7.5 cm) and decreases from 0.5 eV to 0.1 eV
further downstream. The plasma potential measurements
show that the potential deceases from the upstream to the
downstream region, with stronger gradients in the magnetic
barrier region. This produces ion heating and leads to higher
ion temperature in the barrier. The ions are then cooled as
they move away from this region. The positive ion tempera-
ture is slightly higher than the temperature of negative ions.
We have developed a theory to extract the charged-
particle densities and temperatures from Langmuir probe
measurements in strongly electronegative plasmas. The
method agrees with the classical analysis when a < 100 but
provides further insight at higher electronegativity. The
model provides the temperature and the density of all
charged-particles for a higher than 100. In the whole param-
eter range shown here, the model also provides the density
of positive and negative ions and electrons. In the extreme
case, the electron density is more than three orders of magni-
tude lower than the negative ion density. The technique has
been used to gain insight into the transport of charged par-
ticles across magnetic barriers during the formation of an
ion-ion plasmas. It was shown here that a high density ion-
ion plasma is formed within a narrow region near the maxi-
mum magnetic field. Both the exact information of densities
and temperatures are crucial for the design of acceleration
grids in ion-ion plasma thrusters.7
This work was partly funded by EADS Astrium and the
ANR blanc ANR-11-BS09-040. The authors would like to
thank J.-P. Booth and V. Godyak for useful discussion and
advices.
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