Off-Electrode Plasma of High-Voltage Gas Discharge for Micro- and Nanotechnology Problems

Abstract

The original features of low-temperature off-electrode plasma of a high-voltage gas discharge, the basis of its occurrence and self-sustainment are demonstrated. As part of a new approach to the formation of wide-format (diameter up to 200 mm) directed flows of low-temperature off-electrode plasma and a class of corresponding gas-discharge devices (free from the disadvantages characteristic of modern domestic and foreign analogues), complex electrode systems are considered. They make it possible to generate directed flows of such plasma at a discharge current in hundreds and thousands of milliamps and electrode voltages of 0.3–1 kV. Based on experimental testing of these electrode systems, methods for cleaning the surface, increasing the adhesive strength of thin metal films and spatially selective etching of semiconductor and dielectric materials in off-electrode plasma for micro- and nano-sized structuring of their surface have been proposed.