Recent trends in 300-mm plasma equipment

The main development trends of 300-mm plasma equipment, particularly etchers, are further increasing competition between capacitive and inductive plasma sources. Capacitive plasma sources increase excitation frequency in order to attain low-pressure high-density plasma conditions, while inductive sources essentially shrink the discharge gap and cover the low gas residence time range previously occupied exclusively by their capacitive counterparts. Both systems seem to be converging at the very limit for advanced oxide etchers. Wide-gap inductive sources are successfully replacing capacitive systems in polysilicon and metal etch. Microwave systems are still in the minority and will fail to occupy a noticeable place in the 300-mm market in the near future.