Plasma enhanced chemical vapor processing system using hollow cathode effect
US5133986A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 5, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jul 28, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 5, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S156/913
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A high-efficiency, low-temperature, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system for growing or depositing various types of thin films on substrate surfaces, or etching such surfaces, using substrates of materials such as silicon, plastic, etc. The system uses a hollow-cathode-effect electron source with a surrounding confining electrode to create a plasma at the substrate surface to insure that the density of reactive species is both enhanced and localized at the substrate surface thus causing the rate of growth of the films, or the etch rate, to increase so that the process can take place at much lower temperatures and power levels. A particular embodiment involves the growing of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a:Si:H), at room temperature, on silicon using a tubular reactor containing a cylindrical electrode lining the inside of the reactor walls acting as a counter electrode for an rf-powered, substrate-supporting electrode near the center of the reactor. A set of silicon wafers, on which the amorphous silicon is grown, is mounted on the latter electrode. The reaction gases (silane) flowing between the electrodes are decomposed in a plasma excited by an rf power sou…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.