Abstract: A method of removing a conformal coating from a circuit board coated with said conformal coating, the method comprising: subjecting the circuit board to a jet comprising dry-ice ejected from a nozzle, to remove said conformal coating from said circuit board.

Abstract: A substrate mount for a plasma processing apparatus comprising: a frame; an aperture within the frame, configured to accommodate an insert, the insert being configured to support a substrate for processing by the plasma processing apparatus; a releasable securing mechanism configured to releasably secure the insert within the aperture such that the insert can be replaced.

Abstract: A method of removing a conformal coating from a circuit board coated with said conformal coating, the method comprising: subjecting the circuit board to a jet comprising dry-ice ejected from a nozzle, to remove said conformal coating from said circuit board.

Abstract: A plasma reactor incorporating the invention includes a plasma chamber and one or more gas inlets for introducing an ionizable gas into the plasma chamber. A dielectric plate is positioned over an opening to the plasma chamber and above a support that holds a workpiece. An inductor is juxtapositioned to the dielectric plate and comprises multiple winding portions which evidence plural segments of increasing radii from a center of the inductor. Segments of lesser radii are arranged to reside further away from the dielectric plate than segments of greater radii, lending the inductor a truncated conical shape with respect to the dielectric plate. By modifying the pitch angle and/or radius of the plural segments, the field configuration within the chamber can be varied to accommodate different workpieces.

Abstract: Apparatus for sputter etching a substrate includes a processing chamber with a plasma source coupled to the top of the processing chamber to seal the chamber and create a plasma therein. The plasma source comprises a dielectric plate having a generally centered pocket with a concave outer surface and a convex inner surface which physically extends into the processing chamber toward a substrate. An inductive coil is positioned outside the chamber generally inside the pocket and adjacent the concave surface and is preferably contoured to conform to the concave outer surface to form an inductive source relative to the substrate. The contoured inductive coil couples energy through the pocket to create a high density uniform plasma of ionized particles proximate a substrate in the chamber.

Abstract: An electron cyclotron resonance plasma generator is provided in a semiconductor wafer plasma processing apparatus and cluster tool module, particularly for use in soft etching. The generator generates a uniform plasma by rotating a plasma producing resonance supporting magnetic field about the axis of a resonance cavity within the vacuum chamber of a plasma processor. The rotated field preferably is a single-cusp or multicusp field. Gas uniformly flows into and through the cavity from a gas distribution shower. Microwave energy is evenly divided and coupled into the cavity in a TM.sub.01 mode by a plurality of axially and radially aligned loops.

Abstract: An electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source for generating a plasma for etching, deposition, pre-deposition and material property modification processes. The plasma source includes two magnetic field sources. The first magnetic field source provides a magnetic field of sufficient intensity to achieve an ECR condition for a given microwave frequency input beam. The second magnetic field source enhances the uniformity of the plasma formed and the uniformity of the output by creating a uniform field region in the plasma generating chamber. The second magnetic field source also reduces the magnetic field so that the plasma near the extraction system and the output extracted are less magnetized. The magnetic field intensity, longitudinal position, radial position and pole orientation are design variables for adjusting the second magnetic field source to enhance uniformity and reduce the magnetization of the output.