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:
Nov. 18, 2003
Filed:
May. 16, 2001
Isamu Namose, Nagano-ken, JP;
Seiko Epson Corporation, , JP;
Abstract
To provide a plasma etching method that can suppress discharge of active gases that do not contribute to plasma etching into the atmosphere, a plasma etching apparatus is composed of a vacuum chamber , a plasma processing section , a helium supply section , a PFC supply section , a switching device , and an exhaust opening . In the use of the apparatus , first, helium is introduced into the vacuum chamber through the switching device . Then, while introducing the helium, helium is also discharged from the exhaust opening to set the interior of the vacuum chamber at a specified pressure. When the pressure within the vacuum chamber is stabilized at the specified pressure, plasma is generated within the vacuum chamber , and at the same time, helium is switched to carbon tetrafluoride by the switching device . As a result, carbon tetrafluoride that does not contribute to the plasma etching is prevented from being discharged into the atmosphere.