METHOD OF GRADIENT ION-PLASMA ETCHING THROUGH MASK Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC H01L21/3065 H01L21/308 

FIELD: electronic engineering.

SUBSTANCE: method of gradient ion-plasma etching through a mask includes placing the product, the surface of which needs to be treated, in a vacuum chamber, installing a solid-state mask on/above the surface of the product in the form of a plane-parallel plate with a given contour of the edge of the etching zone. A plane-parallel holder is placed between the mask and the surface to be treated, which sets the required height of the gap between the mask and the surface being treated, and does not protrude beyond the edge of the mask so that the edge of the holder is further from the edge of the mask - under the mask by at least 2 gap thicknesses, pumping out residual atmospheric gases from the vacuum chamber to a pressure no worse 10^-3 Pa, injection of argon gas to a pressure of 1 Pa, formation of plasma due to a glowing gas discharge and treatment of the surface of the product with a plasma flow.

EFFECT: ability to form a smooth gradient etching profile along an arbitrarily selected contour and with an arbitrary width of the gradient region in the plane of the surface of the workpiece, which makes it possible to form a gradient of the physical and chemical properties of the surface of crystalline materials and/or thin films, as well as to create spatially inhomogeneous materials, nanostructures and composites.

1 cl, 2 dwg, 1 ex