The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 13, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 03, 1999
Abstract
A plasma etching apparatus is provided having a sealing member coupling an upper electrode to the plasma etching chamber. A peripheral portion of the inner surface of the upper electrode includes a planar surface across both anodized and non-anodized portions of the surface in the peripheral contact region adjacent to the upper portion of the sidewalls of the chamber assembly. A sealing member is positioned between the planar, peripheral portion of the second electrode and the upper portion of the sidewalls to provide a seal therebetween. The anodized portion of the inner surface of the upper electrode may extend over the area adjacent to the opening in the chamber housing and further extend into the peripheral portion beyond the sealing member to reduce the potential for arcing to occur to the non-anodized section during plasma etching operations. Plasma etching apparatus according to the present invention may provide improved sealing, thereby allowing improved control of vacuum level and concentration of processing gas within the plasma etching chamber during etching operations.