PLASMA ETCHING SYSTEMS
Plasmionique offers various plasma reactors for cleaning, etching, Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) and synthesis of nanostructured materials. Processes are carried out using DC, HF, RF or microwave generated plasma, in atmospheric or low pressure regimes.
The difference between plasma etching and PECVD, in principle, is only the plasma chemistry. In the etching process the chemical reaction with a substrate results in volatile molecules that are pumped away, whereas in PECVD the reactions between plasma radicals leave a solid by-product on the surfaces that they come into contact with.
FLARION RF-Series
Etching Systems (and CVD Reactors)
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FLARION-RF series plasma reactors are offered in Capacitively Coupled Plasma (CCP) or Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) configuration. Etching or PECVD process processes are carried out using gases or precursors having chemically reactive radicals.
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Capacitively Coupled Plasmas in etching reactors are generated between two parallel electrodes. CCP reactors are the most common plasma systems used in dry etching. The power is applied to the lower (Reactive Ion Etching, RIE) or the upper electrode (Plasma Etching, PE) . Typical reactors use 13.56 MHz RF power. The lower electrode is the substrate holder and the top electrode forms the gas showerhead.
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Inductively Coupled Plasmas are generated by coupling the RF field of a coil-shaped antenna to the plasma through a dielectric. The most common reactors have a flat, pancake style antenna, with the antenna in atmosphere, with the dielectric being either quartz or alumina.
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In ICP reactors, the substrate holder is often biased, allowing independent control of plasma density and the energy of ions bombarding the substrate. This feature is required for Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE).
MIRENIQUE Series
PECVD and PE-ALD Reactors
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MIRENIQUE-MW Series Plasma reactors use various microwave coupling modes to generate a plasma, including Single Mode cavity, Multi-Mode cavity, Standing Wave, Surface waves and Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) mechanisms.
For low pressure operations (mbar or below) ECR offers the most efficient coupling. Other coupling mechanisms can be used to produce plasma up to atmospheric pressure.
