Abstract: An ion milling end point detection method for etching coated substrates is disclosed comprising the use of a light measurement of light passing through a monitor substrate (e.g., glass coated with the same material at about the same thickness as the coated substrate to be etched) during the milling process, comparing the light values with a reference value and determining the end point of the milling process based on said values. Coated and uncoated monitor substrates may also be employed together and the values compared to determine the end point. An apparatus for determining the end point of an ion milling process is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing semiconductor devices of the type wherein regions of oxide such as silicon oxide recessed or inset in a silicon substrate are formed by oxidation of the silicon with the use of a masking layer protecting locally against the oxidation. In order to prevent the formation of a projecting oxide beak under the masking layer a nitride oxidation mask is applied directly to the substrate which has been previously ion-implanted to a controlled depth and then annealed to generate a dense dislocation network array on the substrate surface to prevent mechanical stress defects which normally would occur when a nitride mask is applied directly to a substrate.