Method and apparatus for photomask plasma etching

• Main Authors: PANAYIL, SHEEBA, J, SABHARWAL, AMITABH, CHANDRAACHOOD, MADHAVI, R, BIVENS, DARIN, KUMAR, AJAY, OUYE, ALAN, HIROSHI, LEWINGTON, RICHARD
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 21.05.2008
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; MATERIALS THEREFOR; METALLURGY; MULTI-STEP PROCESSES FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLICMATERIAL INVOLVING AT LEAST ONE PROCESS PROVIDED FOR IN CLASSC23 AND AT LEAST ONEPROCESS COVERED BY SUBCLASS C21D OR C22F OR CLASS C25; NON-MECHANICAL REMOVAL OF METALLIC MATERIAL FROM SURFACE; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS

A method and apparatus for etching photomasks are provided herein. The apparatus includes a process chamber (102) with a shield (170) above a substrate support. The shield comprises a plate (172) with apertures (174), and the plate has two zones with at least one characteristic, such as material or potential bias, that is different from each other. The method provides for etching a photomask substrate with a distribution of ions and neutral species that pass through the shield.