Predictive estimation of vacuum ultraviolet emission intensity in a low-pressure inductively coupled hydrogen plasma based on the branching ratio technique

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) emission has recently attracted attention in low pressure processing plasmas because of the possibility of high-energy photon damages on the substrates. To quantify the VUV induced damages during the plasma processes, it is need to use of a VUV spectrometer equipped with vacuum systems not readily available in industries. In this work, therefore, we report a simple method to estimate the VUV emission intensity of hydrogen plasmas utilizing a conventional visible spectrometer widely used in plasma processes. From the measurement of hydrogen emission spectra in the visible wavelength region, the VUV emission line (Lyman-β) was calculated using the branching ratio technique and enabled the estimation of Lyman-α emission intensity based on the Boltzmann relation with given plasma parameters. In addition, it was found that the method could also predict the VUV emission intensity for high density hydrogen plasma cases by considering the self-absorption effect by hydrogen atoms.     

气体放电紫外辐射特性的数值模拟

为了提高共面介质阻挡放电(DBD)的真空紫外线(VUV)辐射效率,采用流体模型研究了Ne/Xe混合气体的压强及Xe含量对DBD真空紫外辐射特性的影响。数值模拟结果表明:在一定的放电电压下,增加Xe的含量或气体压强,147nm的真空紫外辐射效率明显下降,但173nm真空紫外辐射效率得到了较大的提高,即总的VUV辐射效率有较大的提高;气压过高会降低VUV辐射总量(发光亮度)。     

VUV信号强度与等离子体宏观参数相关性分析

东方超环(EAST)上高速真空紫外(VUV)成像系统是一套选择性测量中心波长为13.5 nm的等离子体线辐射的光学成像系统。此系统具有高时空分辨能力,主要用于边界(包括台基区)等离子体行为研究。该系统已经投入EAST等离子体物理实验并获得了大量的实验数据。基于这些数据,分析了VUV诊断系统的信号强度与等离子体宏观参数之间的相关性,着重研究了EAST上中性束注入(NBI)加热功率、杂质(碳和锂)水平、电子密度等因素对VUV信号强度的影响。结果与预期基本一致:随着NBI功率的增加,VUV信号强度随之增强;VUV信号强度与电子密度、杂质水平呈现线性关系。此外,本文还评估了由于NBI注入引起的电荷交换复合产生的C5+离子对VUV信号的贡献,结果表明这部分贡献可以忽略不计。     

Evolution of vacuum ultraviolet emission in dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas

In plasma material processing, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) emission is released from gas discharges, leading to undesirable results. Energetic VUV photons enable the creation of an electron-hole pair current when their energy is larger than the bandgap energy of the plasma-facing top layer during plasma material processing. For example, the high energy of VUV photons from helium (21.2 eV), argon (11.6 eV), and oxygen (13.6 eV) is sufficient to generate induced currents in SiO₂ thin films. These feedstock gases are widely used in many procedures utilizing low-temperature industrial plasmas. Thus, the VUV emission evolution with both the power ratio between high (60 MHz) and low (2 MHz) frequencies and pulse duty ratio of the low-frequency radio frequency (rf) power in a dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma, which is indispensable in modern plasma etching processes, was investigated. Both the power ratio between high and low frequencies and the pulse duty ratio changed the electron temperature, leading to evolution of the VUV emission intensity.     

Probing the diffusion of vacuum ultraviolet (λ = 172 nm) induced oxidants by nanoparticles immobilization

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV, λ = 172 nm) patterning of alkyl monolayer on silicon surface has been demonstrated with emphasis on the diffusion of VUV induced oxygen-derived active species, which are accountable for the pattern broadening. The VUV photons photo-dissociates the atmospheric oxygen and water molecules into the oxygen-derived active species (oxidants). These oxidants photo-oxidize the hexadecyl (HD) monolayer in VUV irradiated regions (Khatri et al., Langmuir. 24 (2008) 12077), as well as the little concentration of oxidants diffuses towards the masked areas. In this study, we performed VUV patterning at a vacuum pressure of 10 Pa to track the diffusion pathways for the oxidants with help of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs; ? = 10 nm) immobilization. At VUV irradiated sites AuNPs are found as uniformly distributed, but adjacent to the pattern boundary we observed quasi-linear arrays of AuNPs, which are determined by diffusion pathways of the oxidants. The diffusion of oxidants plays vital role in pattern broadening. The site selective anchoring of AuNPs demonstrates the utility of VUV photons for the construction of functional materials with microstructural architecture.     

Generation of intense sub-20-fs vacuum ultraviolet pulses compressed by material dispersion

We present our latest results on the generation of ultrashort vacuum UV (VUV) pulses by nonresonant four-wave mixing of chirped broadband pulses generated by filamentation of the fundamental of a Ti:sapphire laser with relatively narrowband pulses at the third harmonic. Positive chirp at the broadband idler yields negatively chirped VUV pulses necessary to compensate for material dispersion of a MgF(2) window in the VUV beam path. Pulse energies exceeding 400 nJ are available for time-resolved experiments. Pulse duration is measured by pump-probe ionization of Xe gas, providing the cross correlation between the fifth harmonic and the fundamental.     

The design and construction of a VUV Ar-arc source and a VUV monochromator

The design and construction of a VUV source and a VUV monochromator is reported. The reliability of the VUV source suggests that it can be used as a VUV high radiance transfer secondary standard. A VUV window is used to isolate the high pressure argon-arc source from the VUV monochromator. The spectrum is therefore limited by the transmission cut-off of the window. Alternatively, a differential pump could be used to extend the wavelength range to the extreme UV and eliminate the uncertainties associated with the aging effects of the VUV window. The apparatus is to be used to measure the VUV spectra of certain glass samples.We wish to acknowledge the financial support by SERC under research grant number GR/E 01973.     

Evidence for visible quantum cutting via energy transfer in SrAl12O19:Pr,Cr

Evidence for visible quantum cutting involving the emission of two visible photons for each vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) photon absorbed is demonstrated in SrAl(12)O(19):Pr,Cr using synchrotron radiation as one of the excitation sources. Upon VUV excitation of the 4f5d states of Pr(3+), quantum cutting could occur by a two-step energy transfer from Pr(3+) to Cr(3+) by cross relaxation and sequential transfer of the remaining excitation energy. A theoretical visible quantum efficiency of 147% is estimated in SrAl(12)O(19):2% Pr,5% Cr, suggesting the possibility of a VUV phosphor with visible quantum efficiency higher than 100% based on Pr(3+)-Cr(3+) pair in oxide materials.     

窄带可调真空紫外激光——气相中的非线性过程

本文评述了气相中的非线性过程产生VUV激光的最新进展、在稀有气体和Hg蒸汽中,通过四波和六波混频过程,可产生可调范围为λ_(VUV)=60～200nm,光谱宽度为E=0.01～1cm,~(-1),光强为2×10~θ～ 3×10~(13)光子/脉冲的VUV激光、这一光源具有技术简单,使用方便等特点,对原子、分子的激光光谱以及激光化学等方面的深入研究起了重要作用。     

Extremely low-loss hollow core waveguide for VUV light

A new type of an extremely low-loss optical waveguide is proposed. In the vacuum-ultra-violet (VUV) region (wavelength less than 300 nm) most solid-state materials have a refractive index less than unity due to plasma vibration of electrons. The energy of VUV light is confined within the hollow core due to the smaller n_r than unity of the cladding material of the hollow core waveguide. Typical expected loss for 50 nm-wavelength VUV light of a 0.1 mm hollow-core waveguide is on the order of 0.05 dB/km.     

Vacuum ultraviolet smoothing of nanometer-scale asperities of Poly(methyl methacrylate) surface

Smoothing of the nanometer-scale asperities of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film using vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) with the wavelength λ = 123.6 nm was studied. The exposure time and the residual air pressure in an working chamber were varied during the process of VUV treatment. A nanostructured surface of PMMA film is used as a sample to be exposed. The nanostructured surface of the PMMA film was obtained by treating the initially smooth spin-coated film in oxygen radio-frequency plasma. The degree of VUV exposure is estimated using changes in the morphology and roughness of the nanostructured surface, which were determined by atomic-force microscopy (AFM). Recognition of morphological surface features on the AFM-images and determination of main geometrical characteristics of these features are performed by using virtual feature-oriented scanning method. It is discovered by morphology and Fourier spectra that the nanostructured surface of the PMMA film is partially ordered. The developed VUV smoothing procedure can be used to treat the electron-beam, UV, and X-ray sensitive PMMA resists, PMMA elements of microelectromechanical systems, biomedical PMMA implants, as well as to certify nanotechnological equipment incorporating UV radiation sources.     

Generation of femtosecond vacuum-ultraviolet pulses

High power femtosecond pulses in the Vacuum Ultra Violet (VUV) have been generated through the nonlinear interaction of femtosecond KrF pulses with xenon and argon gas. Under near resonant two photon excitation of xenon by a femtosecond KrF laser, parametric four wave mixing processes lead to VUV pulses at 147 and 108 nm with pulse energies in the 10 µJ range. Tuning is demonstrated by mixing the KrF pulse with a 500 fs dye laser pulse at 497 nm, resulting in 165 nm emission. In argon, a three photon resonance leads to third harmonic generation at 83 nm and micro joule level pulses near 127 nm generated by a six wave mixing process. Since the spectra of the VUV pulses show an ionization-induced blue shift with increasing KrF laser intensity, the VUV pulses can be shown to have temporal duration less than the pulse width (450 fs) of the KrF laser. Blue shifting of the third harmonic of the KrF laser in argon is dominated by a reduction in the neutral gas density rather than by an increase in the electron density.     

CaMgSi2O6:Eu的真空紫外光谱特性

采用高温固相反应利用原料CaCO3,MgO,SiO2和Eu2O3合成CaMgSi2O6:Eu3 样品,并研究了其结构特性、光谱特性.CaMgSi2O6:Eu3 属于单科晶系,基质掺入Eu离子后结构没有明显变化.CaMgSi2O6:Eu3 在147 nm真空紫外光激发下呈红色发射,发射主峰位于611 nm,是Eu3 的5D0→7F2跃迁的典型发射.当Eu3 的相对摩尔浓度在0.02到0.10 mol之间变化时,由相关数据可以发现有浓度猝灭现象发生.CaMgsi2O6:Eu2 在172 nm真空紫外光激发下呈蓝色发射,发射主峰位于452 nm,是Eu2 的5d→4f跃迁的典型发射.添加不同浓度的H3BO3后可大大提高样品的发光强度.     

小分子在真空紫外波段从量子态到量子态的光解离动力学

本文主要描述小分子在真空紫外波段(VUV,6-20 eV)光解离动力学的最新实验和理论研究进展.得益于基于商业化激光器的真空紫外光源技术,以及离子速度成像、高分辨氢原子-里德堡态标记-飞行时间测量和VUV-VUV泵浦-探测等方法的发展,研究人员现在可以对很多小分子在真空紫外波段的光解离动力学进行量子态到量子态层面的测量和研究,本文重点综述H_2(D_2,HD),CO,N_2,NO,O_2,H_2O(D_2O,HOD),CO_2,N_2O以及一些多原子分子在真空紫外波段光解离动力学的最新研究进展.这些小分子在真空紫外波段的光解离在天体化学以及大气化学中有着非常重要的应用.分子吸收一个VUV光子以后,通常会被直接激发到比较高的电子激发态,解离过程会涉及到多个电子态势能面之间的复杂非绝热相互作用.在实验上对解离截面等参数进行从量子态到量子态层面的精细测量对于深入了解这些复杂的势能面之间的相互作用有非常重要的意义.最近建成的大连相干光源是目前世界上唯一一台在真空紫外波段工作的自由电子激光,具有脉冲能量高、扫描范围宽(50～150 nm)等优越的性能,它的建成必将会大大促进小分子真空紫外光解离研究的发展.     

Polymer photoablation under windowless VUV hydrogen or helium discharge lamp

In this work, the photoablation of PolyPhenyl-Quinoxaline (PPQ) films is investigated by using the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) incoherent emission (λ<160nm) from a novel windowless hydrogen (or helium) discharge lamp. A tentative explanation of the film etching process is given through the photochemical reactions which take place in the polymer under VUV illumination.     

Chemical alteration of poly(vinyl fluoride) Tedlar induced by exposure to vacuum ultraviolet radiation

In this study the chemical alteration of poly(vinyl fluoride) Tedlar^® by vacuum ultraviolet radiation (VUV) (115-400 nm) has been examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The initial F/C atom ratio of 0.34 decreases to 0.17 after a 2-h exposure. The F/C atom ratio is further reduced to a steady-state value of approximately 0.04 after a 24-h exposure. Similarly, the O/C atom ratio is reduced from 0.08 to 0.05 and then to 0.02 during these two exposures. As the F and O are removed by VUV exposure, the C concentration increases from 70.5 to 82.0 and then to 94.6 at.% thus forming a graphitic or amorphous carbon-like layer which erodes more slowly than the virgin Tedlar surface. Exposure of the VUV-damaged surface to O₂ results in chemisorption of O, indicating that reactive sites are formed during the chemical erosion by VUV. Further exposure to VUV removes this chemisorbed oxygen but a subsequent exposure to air at atmospheric conditions causes a three-fold increase in O chemisorbed at the surface. Comparison of XPS data indicates that the mechanisms of chemical alteration by VUV radiation and hyperthermal (∼5 eV) atomic oxygen (AO) are similar.     

Tunable light sources based on high harmonics generation for time-resolved VUV spectroscopy

The project of set-up for time resolved femtosecond VUV spectroscopy, which is based on a high harmonic generation source and a VUV monochromator is presented. We discuss the generation conditions of quasi-continuous VUV spectrum via HHG in Ar using the intense chirped IR fundamental pulse and the relatively weak second harmonic of IR fundamental. The desired narrow VUV spectral range is selected by time compensated double monochromator with concave spherical diffraction gratings. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.79.Dj; 78.47.+p; 39.30.+w     

VUV laser photoionization of laser-stimulated desorbed species

We report here first results about single-photon VUV laser photoionization of desorbed species from a silicon surface irradiated by a pulsed and tunable UV laser (290-300 nm). The combination of VUV photoionization at 10 eV with laser-induced surface desorption offers a largely non-destructive and sensitive method for quantitative analysis. Indeed it allows mass spectrometry measurements with uniform sensitivity and without breaking the chemical bonds in the probed species. The energy of the VUV photons (9.91 eV) is above the ionization limits of a number of molecules and fragments. Moreover, adjustment of the delay between the desorbing and the probe lasers allows the measurement of the time-of- flight distribution of the ejected species. Data extracted from these measurements are fundamental for a better understanding of laser-surface interaction phenomena.     

VUV超短脉冲的产生及其在超快动力学中的应用

真空紫外超短脉冲激光具有波长短、单光子能量高、脉宽小等特点,在飞秒化学以及超快动力学等方面具有相当广泛的应用前景.由于直接利用受激辐射获得真空紫外超短脉冲是相当困难,因此利用非线性频率转换技术,超短脉冲与惰性气体相互作用,将红外、可见或紫外光波段的超短脉冲转换到真空紫外波段是目前获得紫外超短脉冲最快捷有效的方式.围绕真空紫外超短脉冲的产生及其在超短动力学中应用展开,介绍了产生真空紫外超短脉冲的高斯谐波、空心光纤四波混频和光丝四波混频的方法,对其优缺点作了评述,并对真空紫外超短脉冲激光在超快动力学过程中的应用进行了简单的总结.     

Rubidium metavanadate formation at room temperature under vacuum ultraviolet irradiation from metal-organic compositions

White light emitting phosphor RbVO₃ films have been successfully fabricated by means of a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation using an excimer lamp after spin coating of metal-organic solution onto substrates. The metal-organic carboxylates coated on substrates decomposed and reacted under the VUV irradiation. The metal-organic bonds were efficiently cleaved by the VUV illumination not only in air but also in vacuum, however, there was not a strong driving force for the reaction process to the formation of RbVO₃ in the vacuum atmosphere. On the contrary, the reaction and crystallization simultaneously proceeded under photo-chemically produced active oxygen and/or ozone atmospheres due to the VUV illumination in air. The reaction between the photo-activated Rb-O and V-O species could be strongly enhanced by the oxidation atmospheres at the moment of the metal-organic bond cleavage under the VUV irradiation.