Plasma etching - a discussion of mechanisms

Abstract Plasma etching, which is expected to play an important role in the manufacture of semiconductor and other devices requiring fine–line lithography, involves using a glow discharge to generate chemically reactive species from relatively inert molecular gases.1 These reactive species combine chemically with certain solid materials to form volatile compounds which are removed by the vacuum pumping system. Although the general concept is relatively simple, the complexities of the glow discharge itself and of the associated parameter space have impeded the development of a detailed understanding of the chemical reactions involved in the process, which in turn has impeded the implementation of plasma etching in device manufacture.