On the Etching Mechanism of Parylene-C in Inductively Coupled O₂ Plasma

Abstract

We report results on a study of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching of Parylene-C (poly-monochloro-para-xylylene) films using an O₂ gas. Effects of process parameters on etch rates were investigated and are discussed in this article from the standpoint of plasma parameter measurements, performed using a Langmuir probe and modeling calculation. Process parameters of interest include ICP source power and pressure. It was shown that major etching agent of polymer films was oxygen atoms O(³P). At the same time it was proposed that positive ions were not effective etchant, but ions played an important role as effective channel of energy transfer from plasma towards the polymer.