Oxygen microwave (mW) plasmas have been used to strip AZ 1350 J photoresist on glass substrates and to decapsulate hybrid resistor networks and Si IC packages. It has been found that the use of microwaves as the generating field provides an abundance of long‐lived atomic oxygen such that processing can be carried out in the afterflow of the discharge. In this downstream system, photoresist and organically based epoxy encapsulants were removed at rates of approximately 6.0 μm/min. In addition, optical emission spectroscopy, from the O2 plasma and the chemiluminescence in the processing zone, has been used to characterize the system.

Etching of Pyrex glass substrates by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching for micro/nanofluidic devices J.Low temperature pulsed etching of large glass substrates

An ultrahigh vacuum electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source has been used to deposit a:Si, Si3N4, SiNx, SiOxNy, and SiO2 dielectric thin films on InP and related compound semiconductors for optoelectronic applications. Films are deposited without substrate heating using mixtures of SiH4, N2, O2, and Ar. Following deposition, thermomechanical properties have been studied by annealing to 450 °C in N2. High temperature film stability is strongly influenced by the addition of Ar to the gas mixture, indicating an important role of ion bombardment during film growth by ECR plasma chemical vapor deposition. In addition, for applications as optical coatings for photonic devices, film refractive index can be accurately controlled by the N2/O2/Ar flow rate ratios.

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This paper presents results on the use of an optical spectroscopic system in the study of reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) of Si wafers and Al thin films deposited on glass substrates. Ion beams derived from Ar, CF4, and CCl4 gases have been used at energies in the range of 0.3–1.7 keV. The emission of ultraviolet and visible photons from sputtered excited substrate particles has been observed. Of particular interest was the detection of SiF and AlCl excited molecules during RIBE of Si and Al substrates, respectively. The effects of ion energy to ion current, and the presence of residual O2 in the etching chamber have been investigated. The results, analyzed on the basis of existing sputtering theories, indicate that at energies below ?500 eV, RIBE is mainly characterized by the sputtering of molecules adsorbed on the bombarded surface. At higher energies, the etching is dominated by the sputtering of elemental atomic species. The addition of small amounts of O2 to the etch chamber was found to enhance the etch rate of both Si and Al substrates. This has been attributed to the removal of a carbonaceous layer formed on the substrate surface as a result of ion-impact dissociation of the bombarding species.