Abstract

Processes that use energetic ions for large substrates require that the time-averaged erosion effects from the ion flux be uniform across the surface. A numerical model has been developed to determine this flux and its effects on surface etching of a silica/photoresist combination. The geometry of the source and substrate is very similar to a typical deposition geometry with single or planetary substrate rotation. The model was used to tune an inert ion-etching process that used single or multiple Kaufman sources¹ to less than 3% uniformity over a 30-cm aperture after etching 8 μm of material. The same model can be used to predict uniformity for ion-assisted deposition (IAD).

© 1998 Optical Society of America