초록 ▼

A homogeneous marker is formed, possibly by the adsorption of trace amounts of an ambient material such as carbon monoxide gas, at a surface of a deposited material when the plasma in momentarily interrupted during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition or other deposition processes involving the

A homogeneous marker is formed, possibly by the adsorption of trace amounts of an ambient material such as carbon monoxide gas, at a surface of a deposited material when the plasma in momentarily interrupted during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition or other deposition processes involving the presence of a plasma. When the deposited material is etched, the resulting crystal dislocations or adsorbed gas is detected as a marker by optical emission spectroscopy techniques. The accuracy of an end point determination of the etching process can be increased by providing a sequence of such markers within the bulk or volume of the deposited material. The markers, being merely an interface such as a slight crystal dislocation in otherwise homogeneous material, do not affect the electrical, chemical or optical properties of the remainder of the predetermined deposited material and thus the homogeneity of the deposited material is not significantly affected.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [8.]8. A method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising steps of:depositing a layer of a first material on a surface for a first period in the presence of an second material;interrupting said depositing step for a second period to allow said first material to absorb s

[ What is claimed is:] [8.]8. A method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising steps of:depositing a layer of a first material on a surface for a first period in the presence of an second material;interrupting said depositing step for a second period to allow said first material to absorb said second material to form a homogeneous marker within said first material;repeating said depositing step and said interrupting step to form multiple homogeneous markers at different depths within said first material;etching said first material and thereby producing emissions;monitoring said emissions to individually detect the etching of each of said homogenous markers by the presence or absence of a characteristic associated with said second material;stopping etching between two adjacent homogeneous markers of said homogeneous markers.