Changes in the ion flux and the time-averaged ion distribution functions are reported for
pulsed, inductively coupled RF plasmas (ICPs) operated over a range of duty cycles. For
helium and argon plasmas, the ion flux increases rapidly after the start of the RF pulse and
after about 50 μs reaches the same steady state value as that in continuous ICPs. Therefore,
when the plasma is pulsed at 1 kHz, the ion flux during the pulse has a value that is almost
independent of the duty cycle. By contrast, in molecular electronegative …