Design and characterization of an RF plasma cleaner

The design and characterization of an innovative device for plasma cleaning, based upon a non-conventional radio-frequency discharge, is described. The RF fields are produced by an antenna placed inside the metallic vacuum chamber. Theoretical models are described to calculate both the electro-magnetic field structure and the spatial impurity distribution, due to erosion of the antenna. The electron energy distribution function is determined with a standard RF-filtered electrostatic probe; it is found that the plasma is well described by a Druyvesteyn energy distribution function.