Novel high density plasma tool for large area flat panel display etching

We have developed a novel dry etch tool LASSIE-standing for Large Area Source Supported Ion Etching-appropriate for the processing of substrate sizes of presently up to 600/spl times/400 mm/sup 2/. The plasma is produced through an array of 4 inductively coupled plasma sources driven by a 13.56 MHz-generator. A second rf-generator serves for substrate biasing. Plasma diagnostic data suggest that LASSIE has strong capabilities for future large area etch applications avoiding several draw backs of conventional reactive ion etching (RIE) using parallel plate reactors. In particular we expect considerably higher etch speed since the plasma densities are roughly one order of magnitude higher than in conventional RIE. In addition processing will be more flexible and better controlled due to the decoupling of plasma densities and ion bombardment energies. An upscale with respect to the processing of wafer sizes larger than presently envisaged is easily achieved by the LASSIE concept.