Comparison of the Etching and Plasma Characteristics of Discharges in CF 4 and NF 3

Abstract

Experiments were performed to explore the correlation (or lack thereof) between the surface effect and plasma characteristics of discharges in and. The optical emission from excited fluorine can be greatly enhanced by the dilution of these gases with helium, yet the etch rate of Si (or ) is decreased by this dilution. The effect of biasing the sample with respect to the plasma potential was investigated, and for , evidence was found for a reaction involving a negative ion.