Gas temperature gradients in a CF4 inductive discharge

The neutral gas temperature in a CF4 planar inductive discharge was measured with space and time resolution using laser-induced fluorescence of the CF radical with analysis of the rotationally resolved excitation spectra. Strong temperature gradients are observed and temperatures as high as 900 K are reached at the reactor center at 50 mTorr with a power density of 0.15 W/cm(3). The temperature at the reactor center increases with both gas pressure and power, but is independent of the gas flow rate. A simple model based on the global thermal energy balance is proposed to explain these results. The fraction of the injected rf power consumed in gas heating varies from 4.4% to 42% under our conditions (5-50 mTorr, 250 W rf power). Axial temperature profiles were measured in the steady state and in the time afterglow. The typical temperature relaxation times are several hundreds of microseconds. A numerical two-dimensional, time-dependent thermal model is in good agreement with the results. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.