At+t Corp.

Drew J Kuhn

John D LaBarre

Jeffrey T Koze

Perimeter material is removed from substrates by stacking the substrates and subjecting them to a plasma etch. In an exemplary application, the perimeter of a silicon wafer dielectric cap (typically silicon nitride) is removed by stacking the wafers in intimate contact, and etching the wafers in a barrel etcher. A well-controlled removal of the cap perimeter is obtained, allowing for a smooth epitaxial deposition at the water edge in a subsequent operation. An additional benefit is smoothing of the substrate edge contour, which reduces scratching of wafer cassettes and other handling equipment.

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Whitehall, PA, United States of America

Drew J Kuhn