Inductively coupled plasma generator for an environmentally benign perfluorocarbon abatement system

Although conventional plasma-resolution-type abatement systems for perfluorocarbons (PFCs) achieve PFC removal efficiencies of more than 98%, they consume a lot of electricity. To diminish global warming by reducing C O2 equivalent emissions, an effective low power-consumption plasma generator is essential. The authors found that the pressure at which the electrical discharge can be maintained at the same rf power supply output increased with the number of turns per unit length of coil. In addition, they revealed that the C F4 removal efficiency rose with increasing pressure. A plasma generator employing a modified cylindrical inductively coupled plasma chamber with 1.1 turnscm achieved a C F4 removal efficiency of 99.0% under conditions of a C F4 flow rate of 10 cm3 min, a pressure of 0.9 kPa, and a rf power supply output of 1.5 kW. The C O2 equivalent removal efficiency was calculated to be 93.5%, an improvement of 6.7% over that of the previous system.