Copper etching kinetics in a high-frequency discharge of freon R12

Abstract

Some specific features of the interaction between copper and freon R12 and the effect of the treatment time and external plasma parameters (temperature, bias power, applied power, and gas pressure) on the copper etching rate are experimentally studied. Activation energies (within the studied temperature range) are established to be typical for heterogeneous reactions controlled by adsorption-desorption processes, thus indicating the key role of ion bombardment in activating the desorption of a passivating film. The surface quality of the treated specimens was analyzed by atomic force microscopy.