Study of Atomic and Molecular Processes Associated with the Fragmentation of Etchant Gas Plasma Constituents

电子束对硅化合物的蚀刻会释放出由NF3、CF4和SF6等蚀刻气体组成的等离子云。当这些气体被进入的电子进一步激发和分解时，它们会干扰电子束。这一过程由于辐射相互作用、电离和混合气体或底物原子的参与而变得复杂。该基金旨在通过飞行时间光谱、质谱和必要时激光诱导荧光等综合诊断方法来阐明这些重叠过程。一个可靠的相互作用模型的发展将是非常有用的硅加工工业。

The etching of silicon compounds by electron beams releases a plasma cloud of etchant gases such as NF3, CF4, and SF6. These gases interfere with the electron beam, as they get further excited and broken up by the incoming electrons. Such process is complicated by the radiative interactions, ionization, and the participation of admixed gases or substrate atoms. This grant aims at the elucidation of these overlapping processes by such combined diagnostics approaches of time-of-flight spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and, if necessary, laser induced fluorescence. The evolvement of a reliable interaction model would be extremely useful to the silicon processing industries.