Electron collision cross sections for the tetraethoxysilane molecule and electron transport coefficients in tetraethoxysilane-o ₂ and tetraethoxysilane-ar mixtures

A consistent set of low energy electron collision cross sections for tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) molecule has been derived from the measured electron transport coefficients (electron drift velocity W, density-normalized longitudinal diffusion coefficient NDL, ratio of the longitudinal diffusion coefficient to the electron mobility D _L/μ, and Townsend first ionization coefficient α=N) in pure TEOS molecule and those calculated by using an electron swarm study and a two-term approximation of the Boltzmann equation for energy. The electron transport coefficients calculated using the derived set are consistent with the experimental data over a wide range of E=N values (ratio of the electric field E to the neutral number density N). The present set of electron collision cross sections for the TEOS molecule, therefore, is the best available so far for quantitative numerical modeling plasma discharges for processing procedures with materials containing TEOS molecules. Electron transport coefficients in TEOS-O ₂ and TEOS-Ar mixtures were also calculated and analysed in the E=N range of 1-1000 and 0.01-1000 Td (1 Td = 10=17 V=cm2), respectively. The Townsend first ionization coefficients were consistent with the available experimental data for the TEOS-O ₂ mixtures. The W, N _DL, D _L/7mu; α/N, and electron attachment coefficient n/N in these binary mixtures were the first calculated over almost the entire part of the present E=N range.