Modeling of the effects of die scale features on bulk plasma conditions in plasma etching equipment

Summary form only given. The patterning of the wafer during microelectronics fabrication can have a significant effect on bulk plasma properties as well as producing local pattern dependent etch rates. Sputtering of photoresist, loading effects, and other surface interactions couple the chemistry at the wafer surface to the bulk plasma chemistry. A model has been developed which uses a Monte Carlo simulation to model quasi-steady state die scale surface chemistry in plasma etching reactors. This model is integrated within the Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model (HPEM) which resolves two-dimensional reactor scale plasma conditions.