Apparatus and method for reactive atom plasma processing for material deposition
First Claim
1. A method for shaping a surface of a workpiece, comprising:
- positioning at least one of a workpiece and an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) torch including three concentrically arranged tubes;
introducing a plasma gas to an outer tube of the ICP torch;
transferring energy from a radio frequency (RF) power source to the plasma gas to generate an excitation zone at least partially downstream of the ICP torch;
introducing a reactive precursor to the excitation zone;
introducing an auxiliary gas to an intermediate tube to control a position of the excitation zone relative to the ICP torch so that a controlled distribution of reactive species is formed;
removing material from the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species; and
adding material to the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for shaping a surface of a workpiece, comprises positioning at least one of a workpiece and an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) torch including three concentrically arranged tubes. A plasma gas is introduced to an outer tube of the ICP torch and energy is transferred from a radio frequency (RF) power source to the plasma gas to generate an excitation zone at least partially downstream of the ICP torch. A reactive reactive precursor is introduced to the excitation zone, and an auxiliary gas is introduced to the intermediate tube to control a position of the excitation zone relative to the ICP torch so that a controlled distribution of reactive species is formed. The surface is shaped by removing material from the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species and adding material to the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A method for shaping a surface of a workpiece, comprising:
-
positioning at least one of a workpiece and an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) torch including three concentrically arranged tubes; introducing a plasma gas to an outer tube of the ICP torch; transferring energy from a radio frequency (RF) power source to the plasma gas to generate an excitation zone at least partially downstream of the ICP torch; introducing a reactive precursor to the excitation zone; introducing an auxiliary gas to an intermediate tube to control a position of the excitation zone relative to the ICP torch so that a controlled distribution of reactive species is formed; removing material from the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species; and adding material to the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A method for cleaning a surface, comprising:
-
positioning at least one of a workpiece and an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) torch including three concentrically arranged tubes; introducing a plasma gas to an outer tube of the ICP torch; transferring energy from a radio frequency (RF) power source to the plasma gas to generate an excitation zone at least partially downstream of the ICP torch; introducing a reactive precursor to the excitation zone; introducing an auxiliary gas to an intermediate tube to control a position of the excitation zone relative to the ICP torch so that a controlled distribution of reactive species is formed; depositing material to the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species; and removing material from the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species.
-
-
15. A method for redistributing a material on a surface, comprising:
-
positioning at least one of a workpiece and an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) torch including three concentrically arranged tubes; introducing a plasma gas to an outer tube of the ICP torch; transferring energy from a radio frequency (RF) power source to the plasma gas to generate an excitation zone at least partially downstream of the ICP torch; introducing a reactive precursor to the excitation zone; introducing an auxiliary gas to an intermediate tube to control a position of the excitation zone relative to the ICP torch so that a controlled distribution of reactive species is formed; depositing material to the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species; and redistributing material from the surface of the workpiece with at least a portion of the reactive species.
-
Specification