John L Labarre

US Patent:

54258464, Jun 20, 1995

Filed:

Aug 9, 1993

Appl. No.:

8/103726

Inventors:

Jeffrey T. Koze - Emmaus PA
Drew J. Kuhn - Whitehall PA
John D. LaBarre - Walnutport PA

Assignee:

AT&T Corp. - Murray Hill NJ

International Classification:

B44C 122

US Classification:

1566461

Abstract:

Perimeter material is removed from substrates by stacking the substrates and subjecting them to a plasma etch. In an exemplary application, the perimeter of a silicon wafer dielectric cap (typically silicon nitride) is removed by stacking the wafers in intimate contact, and etching the wafers in a barrel etcher. A well-controlled removal of the cap perimeter is obtained, allowing for a smooth epitaxial deposition at the water edge in a subsequent operation. An additional benefit is smoothing of the substrate edge contour, which reduces scratching of wafer cassettes and other handling equipment.