Microwave plasma etching and deposition method employing first and second magnetic fields

A method for forming a carbon material including diamond on a substrate comprising the steps of:

• placing said substrate in a reaction chamber;
• introducing a reactive gas including a hydrocarbon gas into said reaction chamber;
• emitting microwaves into said reaction chamber;
• establishing a first magnetic field in said reaction chamber by virtue of an electromagnetic coil surrounding said reaction chamber where the direction of the magnetic field is substantially parallel to the direction of propagation of the microwaves;
• producing a plasma gas by resonance between said reactive gas and the microwaves by virtue of said first magnetic field;
• establishing a second magnetic field in order to pinch said plasma near the substrate;
• and
• forming a carbon material including diamond on said substrate by virtue of said plasma.

A cyclotron resonance plasma processing method comprising:

• placing a substrate in a reaction chamber;
• introducing a reactive gas into said reaction chamber;
• emitting microwaves into said reaction chamber;
• establishing a first magnetic field in said reaction chamber by virtue of an electromagnetic coil surrounding said reaction chamber where the direction of the magnetic field is substantially parallel to the direction of propagation of the microwaves;
• establishing a cyclotron resonance by virtue of said microwaves and said first magnetic field, thereby converting said reactive gas into a plasma;
• establishing a second magnetic field by virtue of ioffe bars placed around said reaction chamber where the direction of said second magnetic field is perpendicular to said first magnetic field in order to confine said plasma inside the reaction chamber;
• and
• carrying out a plasma processing including etching or deposition with said plasma gas on said substrate,
• wherein said substrate is placed in said reaction chamber so that a surface of the substrate is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the first magnetic field and substantially parallel to the direction of the second magnetic field.