Inductively Coupled Plasma and Reactive Ion Etching (ICP RIE)
Oxford Instrument, Plasma Pro NGP 80
Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) is a simple operation, and an economical solution for general plasma etching. The substrate is placed on a graphite “coverplate” to avoid sputtering/re-deposition of electrode material and gas is injected into process chamber via “showerhead” gas inlet in the top electrode. Negative self-bias forms on lower electrode and a single RF plasma source determines both ion density and energy.
Inductively Coupled Plasma etching is an anisotropic dry-etching process where material is removed with the use of chemically reactive plasma under a low pressure (~1-100 mTorr). Typically the material removed is a thin film previously deposited on a wafer.
The ICP-RIE uses two independent RF sources, one to strike plasma in a gas mixture and one to create a DC bias which extracts and accelerates ions and radicals from the plasma towards a sample surface. This gives independent control of ion density and energy. ICP RIE is a popular dry-etching technique because of its possibility for high etch rates, great selectivity and reduced ion bombardment damage.
Technical specifications:
- Sample sizes: from small chips up to 4” wafers
- Equipped with ICP source Cobra 80
- Process Gases: CHF3, CF4, Ar, O2, N2
- Etching of several materials (Compound Semiconductors Dielectrics, Metals, Organics)
- ICP Power: 600W
- RIE Power: 600W
- Standard operating temperature 20ºC
