OBSERVATION OF NEUTRAL PRODUCTS OF A SOFT-X-RAY STIMULATED ETCHING REACTION IN THE SF6 A-SIO2 ABSORPTION SYSTEM/

Soft X-ray stimulated etching reactions in an SF6/a-SiO2 adsorption sy stem have been studied by the direct detection of neutral products usi ng quadrupole mass spectrometry. Various nascent products were observe d by Sit, core-level excitation. The observation of SOxFy+ fragments i n relatively high amounts suggests that active species contain not onl y F atoms but also that S atoms play an important role. The excitation energy dependence of the SiF+ intensity has shown evidence that core- level excitation is more effective on the etch rate than valence-level excitation, and that the etching is caused by surface excitation.