Kapton (polyimide) has been considered a potential candidate for particle r
eduction in plasma etching chambers. However, it is found that the lifetime
of kapton's ability to trap particles is limited. Beyond this limit, parti
cle contamination becomes serious. In this study, two plasma etching recipe
s were used to test the particle/polymer trapping efficiency of kapton. Fou
rier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet (UV)-visible emission spectr
oscopies were used to study plasmakapton interactions. It is found that the
functional groups change on the kapton surface as observed by IR has a str
ong link to the change of features in plasma emission spectra. The increase
of IR absorption of CFx (x = 2 and 3) indicates the growth of fluorocarbon
polymer on the kapton surface. The kapton surface was damaged, as is indic
ated by the change of C=O, -NH2, and C-H IR intensities and the variation o
f CN and SiF peaks in UV-visible emission spectra. Spectroscopic data show
that kapton has a very good particle/polymer reduction efficiency when usin
g a high-polymer recipe but it is not very efficient with an oxygen-rich re
cipe. Both IR absorption and UV-visible emission data are correlated to int
erpret the mechanisms of plasma damage of kapton. (C) 2000 American Vacuum
Society. [S0734-211X(00)05602-X].