Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools Limited

Andrew Goodyear

Michael Cooke

Mike Cooke

This disclosure relates to a surface processing apparatus for use in the surface processing of a substrate. The surface processing apparatus comprises a plasma source including a wall defining a plasma chamber and an excitation source adjacent the wall and a processing chamber in which a substrate having a predetermined maximum lateral dimension is mounted in use, the processing chamber being operatively connected to the plasma source. A transmission plate for the transmission of plasma in use is arranged between the plasma source and processing chamber, the transmission plate comprising a plurality of apertures. The apertures follow a non-rectilinear path through the transmission plate such that there is no line of sight in use between a substrate with the predetermined maximum lateral dimension mounted in the processing chamber and the most intense region of the plasma in the plasma chamber.

Surface processing apparatus

There is provided an apparatus for cyclical plasma etching of a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a process chamber; a support within the process chamber for receiving the substrate to be etched; a controller for repeatedly applying a dosing step and a bombardment steps respectively; a dosing controller for controlling the flow of a process gas in the dosing step such that the substrate is exposed to a maximum dose of process gas in use of 1000 Langmuirs and said dose is controllable within an accuracy of 1 Langmuir; and a first signal generator coupled to the process chamber and a second signal generator coupled to the support within the process chamber, the first and second signal generators being configured such that in use positions ions of an plasma active species within the process chamber have a substrate bombardment energy in the range of 10 eV to 100 eV which is controllable within an accuracy of 5 eV. There is also provided a method for cyclical plasma etching of a substrate using said apparatus.

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North Somerset, United Kingdom

Andrew Goodyear