AN ECR PLASMA SOURCE

摘要

An apparatus is described as a source of a plasma for gas abatement whereby toxic or environmentally harmful effluent from a process chamber (1) is converted to harmless and stable products. The plasma source may also be used for downstream processing. A substrate can be effected by deposition of a thin film, followed by etching of the substrate surface, or otherwise modifying the surface. The plasma is produced in a gas by magnetic field and microwave energy in ECR mode. The microwave field is coupled to the chamber gas (1) by an antenna rod (2) or through a microwave transparent window (27). Permanent magnets (4) are placed either on the side of the chamber opposite the entrance of the microwave field or along the sides of the chamber or in magnetized rings placed along the entire length of the chamber. This increases the ability of plasma electrons to absorb power and increase the electron density in the plasma by magnetic confinement thereby avoiding excessive loss of electrons to the chamber walls. Process gases can be added either just before or just after passage through the plasma source.