Process for passiveting the surface of sensors.

摘要

A process is described for the electrical and mechanical surface passivation of sensors, e.g. semiconductor sensors, using a vacuum installation comprising a receiver with connections for gas inlet and gas outlet lines, an anode and a cathode above which a substrate holding device is disposed, for coating the sensor with a layer of material according to the CVD process by means of a plasma-supported layer deposition, and measuring and control devices for the process parameters determining the sputtering process, such as gas flow, pressure and the electrical power injected into the plasma. In a first process step according to the invention, a filler gas is passed into the receiver, and a high frequency is applied to the electrodes for igniting a plasma within the receiver. The sensor surface is then cleaned by impurities being sputtered off from the sensor surface by means of plasma particles impinging on the sensor surface. In a further step, a silicon-containing monomer and an additional gas are passed into the receiver while the addition of the filler gas is continuously throttled and the plasma is maintained, the electronic characteristics of the electrical power injected into the plasma being registered at the same time. Finally, this results in the deposition of a compound of the silicon-containing monomer and the additional gas on the sensor surface.