The stripping of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films (a-C:H) using an
rf oxygen plasma has been monitored using the optical emission from el
ectronically excited CO, H and O species in the visible region of the
spectrum. The end point has been detected by monitoring the emission i
ntensity of O reactive species (777.2 nm) and CO emission (483.5 nm) i
ntensity of the etching product. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri
ghts reserved.