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Commonly seen etch chambers.

This section shows simplified schematics highlighting the many differences seen in chamber types.

A very simple schematic. Power to the top electrode so this is a plasma etcher. This could be used to strip resist or be used to give a surface a plasma treatment.

Simple schematics for a plasma etcher and an RIE tool. RIE configuration has the RF applied to the cathode upon where the wafer sits. This config can etch anisotropic features.

TEL DRM chamber. This has a ring of permanent magnets which rotate and can be moved up and down. This improves uniformity and increases plasma density. This was a well received chamber which was around a long time.

Basic ICP tool. The gap is always far larger on ICP tools than on the CCP types. Uniformity is better and the larger volume leads to more plasma being available. It is decoupled and so has a wide process lattitude.

ICP with 2 bias sources on the cathode an unusual variant. The second freq could be a very low freq to generate large dc bias.

ECR tool. Microwave frequency (~2.5GHz) and strong B fields are used. Hitachi were successful with this type chamber and Intel used them a lot. This is good for poly and metal etch which are more chemical in nature.

Remote plasma, typical of an asher, or similar to the cleaning used on a CVD chamber.

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