US 6,281,469 B1 · Capacitively coupled RF-plasma reactor

Abstract

A capacitively coupled RF plasma reactor allows treatment of large workpiece surfaces with an accurate control of ion bombardment onto the respective electrode surfaces and thus an adjacent workpiece, be it to a desired low or to a desired high level. The reactor includes a first and a second electrode arrangement mutually spaced and confining a plasma reaction volume, at lest one of the electrode arrangements comprising electrically mutually isolated sub-electrodes, a first group of the sub-electrodes being commonly connected to a first electric input, and a second group of the sub-electrodes being commonly connected to a second electric input. The reactor thus substitutes at least one of the two customarily used reactor electrodes by an array of sub-electrodes which, by way of their respective first and second electric inputs, may be independently and thus differently electrically operated, usually but not exclusively with RF voltages.

Claims45

Dependent claims

A method for manufacturing a workpiece based on a silicon wafer substrate or a flat display with a substrate, comprising:

(a) providing first and second extended electrode arrangements mutually and substantially constantly spaced and substantially enclosing a plasma reaction volume within a reactor chamber:
(b) subdividing said first of said electrode arrangements into electrically mutually isolated subelectrodes;
(c) commonly connecting a first group of said subelectrodes to a common first electric input;
(d) commonly connecting a second group of said subelectrodes to a second electric input independent of said first electric input;
and
(e) introducing said substrate onto said second electrode arrangement;
(f) operatively connecting both said first and second electric inputs to one common Rf signal generator via respective signal adjusting unite;
(g) generating by said Rf signal generation an Rf plasma discharge within said plasma reaction volume;
and
(h) controlling ion bombardment on and along said substrate by respective signal adjusting units operatively connected to said first and second electric inputs.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Capacitively coupled RF-plasma reactor

Life of this patent

Capacitively coupled RF-plasma reactor

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims45