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EP0210858A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Reactive ion etching deposition apparatus and method of using it

Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
•
Filing: 1986-07-28
•
Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-07-28
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Abstract

Abstract The cathode (31) in a reactive ion etching and deposition apparatus is in the form of a single plate having a matrix of cylindrical hollows (37) therein, each hollow producing a hollow cathode glow when the apparatus is energised. The aspect ratio (largest dimension of each hollow cross-section/depth of the hollow) is preferably at least 1.5. In operation of the apparatus, an RF voltage is applied between the cathode and an evacuated chamber in which the cathode is disposed through a suitable matching network. A plasma gas is supplied from a point outside the cathode and a suitable pumping system is used to maintain operating pressures in the 0.1 to 400 millitorr range.

Inventors

  • 👤 Bruce Bumble
  • 👤 Jerome John Cuomo
  • 👤 Joseph Skinner Logan
  • 👤 Steven Mark Rossnagel

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-28 10:27
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32082; C; C23; C23C; C23C14/00; C23C14/22; C23C14/34; H01J37/32431; H01J37/32532; H01J37/32541; H01J37/32596; H01J2237/00; H01J2237/32; H01J2237/33; H01J2237/334; H01J2237/3341

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 43 words
A reactive ion etching and deposition apparatus comprising a cathode (31) disposed in an evacuable chamber, the apparatus being characterised by the cathode (31) being of a form providing a matrix of hollows (37) in its front side and a plain rear side.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 43 words
A reactive ion etching and deposition apparatus comprising a cathode (31) disposed in an evacuable chamber, the apparatus being characterised by the cathode (31) being of a form providing a matrix of hollows (37) in its front side and a plain rear side.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 40 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the ratio of the largest dimension of the cross-section of each of the hollows in the front side of the cathode to the depth of the hollow is at least 1.5:1.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 28 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the cathode comprises a plate having a matrix of blind holes in the front side thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 15 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the holes are of circular cross-section.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 35 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the cathode comprises a matrix of short tubes, each mounted at one end on a backing plate and having its other end open.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 15 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, in which the tubes are of circular cross-section.
Claim 8
Independent Claim 115 words
A method of operating an apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, including supporting a workpiece adjacent the front side of the cathode, evacuating the chamber to a vacuum, of between 0.0013 to 53 Pa (0.01 and 400 millitorr), establishing an ionisable gas flow through said chamber, initiating a hollow cathode glow discharge within the cathode by applying a high RF voltage and then reducing the RF voltage to less than 300 peak RF volts once the hollow cathode glow is ini­tiated, and maintaining a hollow cathode glow sustaining voltage of not greater than said 300 peak RF volts and an effective DC bias voltage of not greater than 150 volts (negative) on the cathode.

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