Increasing the Degree of Surface Cleanliness with Low-Temperature Off-Electrode Plasma

A major problem hindering the development of diffractive optics and micro and nanoelectronics is how to fabricate surfaces with the desired degree of cleanliness. Residual resist layers as well as organic molecular compounds (solvents, chemicals, etc.) adsorbed at wafer surfaces are the primary sources of contamination [160, 161]. This necessitates cleaning organic contaminants off substrate surfaces before etching.