High-throughput deterministic plasma etching using array-type plasma generator system

A deterministic processing method is a high-precision finishing method, where the to-be-removed amount of material at each point of the work surface is calculated based on an accurately measured present surface shape and is removed precisely using a numerically controlled (NC) processing system. Although this method has achieved nanometer-scale accuracy, the method requires considerable time to scan the work surface, leading to low productivity. Therefore, using an individual on-off controllable array-type plasma generator covering the entire work surface, enabling simultaneous NC plasma processing is proposed herein. A novel intermittent gas flow system was constructed using cyclic on-off control of the gas supply and exhaust valves instead of the commonly used continuous gas flow to achieve uniform in-plane plasma etching. It was found that uniform removal could be achieved by combining it with a pulse-modulated high-frequency power supply and setting the plasma generation time in one cycle to be sufficiently short. Furthermore, a power control approach was developed for maintaining a constant plasma state, even while varying the plasma-generating array elements, which resulted in a demonstration experiment of NC plasma etching that successfully reduced the thickness variation of a silicon substrate.