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<p>Atmospheric inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching has emerged as a critical technology for optical fabrication due to its damage-free etching, high removal efficiency, and adaptability to curved surfaces. However, the existing ICP torch design often struggles to achieve the high reactive gas ionization and low-temperature jet characteristics essential for etching applications. In this paper, a low-temperature ICP conical torch enabling stable plasma generation at reduced power inputs (250 ~ 600&#xa0;W) was proposed. Through multi-physical coupling simulations, we analyzed the torch’s internal electromagnetic, temperature, and flow fields, which revealed the formation of the skin layer zone, the distribution of the core high-temperature zone, and the influences of the swirl, development, and blockage zones. On this basis, key structural parameters of the torch were optimized, including the taper of the variable-diameter section, the coil axial position and the nozzle throat geometry. Subsequently, etching experiments of fused silica were conducted to verify the removal efficiency and stability of the low-temperature ICP jet. It could achieve a peak removal rate of 11.19&#xa0;μm/min and a volume removal rate of 0.69 mm<sup>3</sup>/min. The jet exhibited the relatively long-term stability, both axial and radial fluctuations of which were maintained below 5% over 60&#xa0;min at 300&#xa0;W. The root-mean-square (RMS) error of the fused silica surface converged from 445.12&#xa0;nm to 223.88&#xa0;nm after processing for 18&#xa0;min at 400&#xa0;W, with no visible signs of deposition. These results demonstrate the torch’s capability to mitigate the thermal effect, thus showing its promise for high-precision optical fabrication.</p>

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Multi-physical Numerical Simulation and Design Optimization of a low-temperature Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch for Optical Fabrication

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月12日

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  • Yuepeng Hu,
  • Peiqi Jiao,
  • Peng Zhang,
  • Bin Fan,
  • Qiang Xin,
  • Yupeng He,
  • Deping Yu

摘要

Atmospheric inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching has emerged as a critical technology for optical fabrication due to its damage-free etching, high removal efficiency, and adaptability to curved surfaces. However, the existing ICP torch design often struggles to achieve the high reactive gas ionization and low-temperature jet characteristics essential for etching applications. In this paper, a low-temperature ICP conical torch enabling stable plasma generation at reduced power inputs (250 ~ 600 W) was proposed. Through multi-physical coupling simulations, we analyzed the torch’s internal electromagnetic, temperature, and flow fields, which revealed the formation of the skin layer zone, the distribution of the core high-temperature zone, and the influences of the swirl, development, and blockage zones. On this basis, key structural parameters of the torch were optimized, including the taper of the variable-diameter section, the coil axial position and the nozzle throat geometry. Subsequently, etching experiments of fused silica were conducted to verify the removal efficiency and stability of the low-temperature ICP jet. It could achieve a peak removal rate of 11.19 μm/min and a volume removal rate of 0.69 mm3/min. The jet exhibited the relatively long-term stability, both axial and radial fluctuations of which were maintained below 5% over 60 min at 300 W. The root-mean-square (RMS) error of the fused silica surface converged from 445.12 nm to 223.88 nm after processing for 18 min at 400 W, with no visible signs of deposition. These results demonstrate the torch’s capability to mitigate the thermal effect, thus showing its promise for high-precision optical fabrication.