1.7.2 Dust in plasma processing devices (dust is a bad thing)

During the last decade, in microelectronics industry, dust particles become the major cause of contamination and reduce the yield and performance of fabricated devices. In early 1990s, more than 50% devices were failed due to the particle contamination. The adhesion of thin films was reduced due to the submicron particles deposited on the surface, also causes dislocations. In semiconductor technology, the elimination of even smallest dust particles has become an urgent issue to develop smaller structures and thin films. Firstly, it was thought that the cause of most of the contamination is that the processed surfaces were handling in the clean rooms but soon it was seemed that plasma is the major source of dust particles and causes the loss of costly wafers. Now, the dust contamination is well controlled.
