What is Gas Plasma?
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neutral mixture of electrons, ions, radicals, and photons created by
the application energy such as radio frequency (RF) to a source gas
contained within a vacuum chamber.
Free electrons initiate the process; exposure of the free electrons to
the external energy source allows the electrons to gain sufficient
kinetic energy such that a collision with another atom or molecule will
result in the formation of ions and radicals.
The reactive radical species are capable of chemical work where the
ionized atom and molecular species are capable of physical work through
sputtering.
Photon emission within a plasma is a result of the excited neutrals,
ions and free radicals formed in the plasma losing the excess energy.
The wavelength of the emission is of sufficient energy to break
chemical bonds, and can be useful when treating polymeric materials.
Though non-equilibrium plasma has electron energies in excess of
10,0000C critical for sustaining the plasma through atomic and
molecular ionization and dissociation processes, it maintains a gas
stream temperature that is less than 1000C.
Plasma technology is applied to numerous industrial processes including
surface treatment, thin film deposition and etch, material synthesis,
waste treatment, and machining.
In advanced integrated circuit (IC) packaging applications, plasma
processing is playing in important role in providing improved
reliability and yield of these fine geometry packages.