Plasma Physicist (Process Equipment)

Project

Work done for a product or program.

• Design and characterise plasma sources — CCP, ICP, ECR, microwave, remote and pulsed plasmas — for etch, deposition and strip applications.
• Measure plasma parameters using Langmuir probes, optical emission spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, actinometry and ion energy analysers.
• Build and validate plasma simulation models (fluid, hybrid and particle-in-cell) in tools such as COMSOL, HPEM or CFD-ACE to predict uniformity and ion flux.
• Engineer RF power delivery, bias schemes, pulsing waveforms and DC superposition to shape ion energy distribution functions.
• Develop atomic layer etch and selective etch schemes based on self-limiting surface reaction understanding.
• Diagnose plasma-induced damage, charging, arcing and aspect-ratio-dependent etch behaviour and propose hardware mitigations.
• Optimise electrode, showerhead, focus ring and chamber wall materials and geometries for radical loss, uniformity and chamber-wall memory effects.
• Support chamber matching by identifying the physical parameters that drive chamber-to-chamber variation.
• Transfer validated plasma models and knobs to process applications engineers and recipe developers as usable design rules.

Function

Work that keeps the discipline running: methods, tools, suppliers and people.

• Publish and present results at AVS, GEC and SPIE and maintain collaborations with universities and imec on plasma science.

Project

1. Produce and hand over the role's key deliverables
   • Plasma source design and characterisation report
   • Validated plasma simulation model with knob-to-response relationships
   • Ion energy distribution and radical flux measurement data
   • Atomic layer etch process concept and proof of principle
   • Plasma-induced damage assessment and mitigation proposal
   • Chamber uniformity and matching physics analysis
2. Run research projectsGeneral
   • Define hypotheses and experiments
   • Build test structures or models
   • Analyse and report the results
3. Transfer resultsGeneral
   • Hand findings over to development
   • Support early adoption

Function

1. Stay currentGeneral
   • Review the literature
   • Work with universities and consortia
2. Protect and shareGeneral
   • File invention disclosures
   • Publish where allowed