Modified etch-and-deposit bosch process in silicon
OwnerYuri Glukhoy, Richard Brewster Maininventors
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Abstract
A modified deposit-and-etch Bosch process of cyclic anisotropic etching and film deposition by gas switching. The modification of which includes depositing nucleated silicon layers as liquefied droplets of silicon instead of by passivation, and using a bias discharge to decelerate an otherwise ballistic deposition instead into a nuclei-generation cloud at the deposition site. Such is then useful in the refurbishment of gas distribution plates made of silicon.
Claims13
A modified deposit-and-etch Bosch process in silicon, comprising:
- depositing droplets of liquid silicon from vapors instead of passivation;
- etching back a portion of a silicon deposition of solidified droplets of silicon with an anisotropic etch;
- and
- repeating the steps of depositing and etching silicon until a geometric structure is completed.
A modified Bosch process for building/restoring deep straight walled through-holes of silicon in silicon wafers and plates, including a beginning silicon deposition cycle comprising:
- injecting silicon nanoparticles into an atmospheric pressure (ICP) discharge for vaporization and supersonic ejection with an argon plasma beam;
- focusing a resulting supersonic ejection of vaporized silicon nanoparticles and argon plasma beam into an entrance of a deep straight-walled through-holes in a silicon wafer or plate;
- launching a bias CCP discharge local to an exit of the deep straight-walled through-holes by coupling down through such passages to a bottom CCP discharge generated by a gas permeable RF-powered mesh positioned beneath the silicon wafer or plate;
- wherein, a portion of a silicon vapor flow in a thin penetrating supersonic plasma beam dissipates in the bias CCP discharge such that fast vaporized nanoparticles are diverted and slowed down for transitioning into condensed liquid silicon droplets;
- wherein, the condensed liquid silicon droplets precipitate inside and onto sidewalls of the deep straight-walled through-holes in the silicon wafer or plate and solidify in a solid accretion.
A plasma-based device for silicon deposition by decelerating supersonic silicon vapor plasma beams into droplets, comprising:
- a source of supersonic focused plasma beams that carry silicon vapors;
- a plasma discharge positioned in front of at least one of the supersonic focused plasma beams and that is ignited proximate to a silicon deposition site in a crystalline silicon structure;
- wherein, the plasma discharge decelerates at least one of the supersonic focused plasma beams on contact and the silicon vapors are converted into liquid droplets of silicon that disperse and solidify into the silicon deposition site in the crystalline silicon structure;
- and
- wherein the crystalline silicon structure is built up.
13-16. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.