Emission cross sections from fragments produced by electron impact on silane

Optical emission spectroscopy in the visible and near UV of a silane plasma was performed in a low pressure hot cathode glow discharge bounded into a magnetized multipolar wall. Emissions from Si, Si⁺, SiH, SiH⁺ and H are shown to originate from the dissociative excitation of silane molecules by electron impact. The absolute cross sections for the various photoemissive processes were measured in the 17–68 eV range. The relevance of optical emission spectroscopy to silane plasma diagnostics is discussed.