Abstract

In commercial practice, single-crystal semiconductors are etched using reactive gases in plasma discharges. Rational design of such processes requires quantitative models of the kinetics of the surface reactions by which substrate atoms are removed as volatile species, usually fluorides or chlorides. Because of the complexity of plasma etching, single-effect experiments, in which only the chemistry of the surface reactions are investigated, are very useful.

© 1987 Optical Society of America