Patent EP0429270B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0429270B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Continuous etching method and apparatus therefor
Assignee: Kokusai Denki Electric Inc
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Filing: 1990-11-19
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Granted: 1996-08-21
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Expires: 2010-11-19
Abstract
No abstract record available.
Inventors
- 👤 Sadayuki Okudaira
- 👤 Hideo Komatsu
- 👤 Osamu Matsumoto
- 👤 Motoichi Kanazawa
- 👤 Kazuo Sasada
- 👤 Tsuyoshi Naito
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 03:32
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P50/00; H10P50/20; H10P50/26; H10P50/264; H10P50/266; H10P50/267; G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/26; G03F7/36; H10P50/28; H10P50/282; H10P50/283; H10P50/286; H10P50/287; H10P50/71; H10P50/73; H10P72/00; H10P72/04; H10P72/0402; H10P72/0418; H10P72/0421; H10P72/30; H10P72/33; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/907
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
152 words
A continuous etching method comprising the steps of: forming a multilayer resist membrane on a member to be etched; patterning the top resist layer by means of, for example, light, X-ray or electronic line drawing; conveying the member to a first treatment region (2); introducing a gas to the first treatment region and generating a discharge plasma; dry-etching the multilayer resist; conveying the member to a second treatment region (3); dry-etching the member to a predetermined depth in the second treatment region; conveying the member to a third treatment region (4) ; removing the resist according to the patterning and plasma treatment in the third treatment region; and conveying the member between the treatment regions (2, 3, 4) in an evacuated environment (6); characterised by: heat treating the member simultaneously with removal of the resist in the third treatment region and plasma treating the member so as to form a protective cover.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the member to be etched consists of a plurality of layers and, when respective layers cannot be etched in the same gaseous environment, performing each etching step in an individual treatment region.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the respective gaseous environments of the individual treatment regions are fluorinous and chlorinous.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reaction gas for generating the protective cover is hydrocarbon-based.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
142 words
Continuous etching apparatus comprising a vacuum conveying chamber (6), a load unit (1) communicable with the vacuum conveying chamber through a first air-tight gate (7), an unload unit (5) communicable with the vacuum conveying chamber through a second air-tight gate (8), a resist etching unit (2) communicable with the vacuum conveying chamber through a third air-tight gate (9), and a further etching unit (3) communicable with the vacuum conveying chamber through a fourth air-tight gate (10), an after-treatment unit (4) communicable with the vacuum conveying chamber through a fifth air-tight gate (11), and conveying means (17,18,19,20) in the vacuum conveying chamber arranged to convey articles between respective units, characterised in that the after-treatment unit (4) comprises heating means, the unit being operable to heat and plasma treat the member simultaneously with removal of the resist so as to form a protective cover.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the resist etching unit (2) and the further etching unit (3), each comprise cooling means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cooling means comprise a liquified nitrogen-based cooler and a heater.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cooling means comprises a refrigerator and a heater.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 5 to 8, further comprising a waiting unit (27) in the vacuum conveying chamber (6) in which members to be etched can be queued during conveyance between units.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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