Abstract: Methods for reducing plasma instability for plasma depositing a dielectric layer are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a substrate in a plasma processing chamber, flowing a gas mixture into the chamber, applying an RF power to an electrode to form a plasma in the chamber, and collecting DC bias information. In another embodiment, the method for plasma processing includes obtaining of DC bias information over a plurality of plasma generation events, and determining an RF power application parameter from the DC bias information.

Abstract: Methods and systems of diagnosing an arcing problem in a semiconductor wafer processing chamber are described. The methods may include coupling a voltage probe to a process-gas distribution faceplate in the processing chamber, and activating an RF power source to generate a plasma between the faceplate and a substrate wafer. The methods may also include measuring the DC bias voltage of the faceplate as a function of time during the activation of the RF power source, where a spike in the measured voltage at the faceplate indicates an arcing event has occurred in the processing chamber. Methods and systems to reduce arcing in a semiconductor wafer processing chamber are also described.