LARGE-DIAMETER REACTIVE PLASMA PRODUCED BY A PLANE ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE ANTENNA

A large-diameter and uniform SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride) plasma is produ ced by a plane slotted antenna with permanent magnets for electron cyc lotron resonance. The plasma is fairly homogeneous similarly to the ca se of an argon plasma, and the uniformity is within +/-3% for a diamet er of similar to 20 cm at a distance of 20 cm from the antenna. Simila r uniformity is obtained in the etching process of polysilicon. The et ching rate is enhanced by the assistance of ion acceleration using the RF self-bias technique.