Modeling of H2 and H2/CH4 Moderate-Pressure Microwave Plasma Used for Diamond Deposition

One-dimensional transport models of moderate-pressure H₂and H₂/CH₄plasmas obtained in a diamond deposition microwave reactor are presented. These models describe the plasma as a thermochemically nonequilibrium flow with three different energy modes. The solution of the one-dimensional plasma transport equations enabled the estimation of plasma species concentrations and temperatures on the axis of the reactor. As far as pure H₂plasmas are concerned, results showed that the model predictions of gas and vibration temperatures are in good agreement with experimental measurements. The model also yields a relatively good qualitative prediction of the variations of H-atom mole fraction with the power density absorbed by the plasma. The results obtained for H₂/CH₄discharges showed that the model prediction on the variations of H-atom mole fraction with methane percentage in the discharge is in good qualitative agreement with experimental results. They also showed that methane is rapidly converted to acetylene before reaching the discharge zone. The concentrations of neutral hydrocarbon species in the reactor are mainly governed by thermal chemistry. The addition of methane strongly affects the ionization kinetics of the plasma. Three major ions are generally obtained in H₂/CH₄plasmas: C₂H₂⁺, C₂H₃⁺, and C₂H₅⁺. The relative predominance of these ions depends on the considered plasma region and on the discharge conditions. The ionic species concentrations are also mainly governed by chemistry, except very near the substrate surface. Finally the use of this transport model along with the surface chemistry model of Goodwin⁽¹⁾enabled us to estimate the diamond growth rate for several discharge conditions.