Characterization of Metastable Beam Sources

We propose a 6 month program during which we will develop and demonstrate an approach for generating well-characterized atomic and molecular beams of metastable species. Such beam sources are necessary for the microelectronics and plasma processing industries because they would provide a valuable tool required to establish a solid database of plasma-related collision processes. This improved and expanded database would allow accurate plasma-processing models which are needed to optimize plasma processing procedures. We think the major problem to address is not how go generate beams of atomic and molecular metastables, but how to characterize such beams accurately. We will generate metastables in a system which allows easy and accurate characterization, a discharge-flow reactor. We will then expand a sample of this well-characterized mix of metastables through a nozzle into a high vacuum system. We propose an innovative and sensitive detection technique called tracer fluorescence, to characterize the metastable concentrations in the molecular beam. Finally, we will demonstrate that the relatively simple diagnostics in the moderate pressure source relate directly to the concentrations of metastables in the molecular beam.