Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP etcher)

ICP etcher

 

ICP schematic

An inductively coupled plasma is a type of plasma source in which are produced by electromagnetic induction, that is, by time-varying magnetic fields. Our ICP etching system consists of an RF power supply, a vacuum chamber, a flow rate and pressure control device, and a vacuum measurement device.

The power supply device is composed of an RF generator and an impedance matching circuit which output RF (13.56MHz) power for generation and maintenance of plasma.

The vacuum chamber is made of anodized aluminum, and the Langmuir port and the chamber window are installed on the side and the front of the vacuum chamber, respectively. The vacuum chamber is provided with a gas line for introducing the process gas.

Flow and pressure control device consist of a mass flow controller (MFC) for regulating the gas flow in the gas container to introduce a desired flow rate of gas into the vacuum chamber, a TMP and dry pump for discharging the volatile byproducts to the outside of the vacuum chamber, Throttle valve for controlling the pressure inside the chamber, and a flow rate and pressure controller.

 

In addition, a pulsed generator and a 2MHz frequency generator were recently introduced. High aspect ratio contact (HARC) etching process is performed by controlling the on/off time of the plasma through the pulsed generator and controlling the ions and neutral species. Also, by increasing the ion energy through a 2MHz generator, it is possible to solve problems such as twist, necking, and bowing occurring in the HARC process.