Reactive Ion Etch (RIE)
with Inductive Coupled Plasma (ICP)

Operating Manual

Front view

Here is the system seen from the front. Going from top to bottom there are:
  • The ICP unit, Inductive Coupled Plasma. The ions are accelerated not only by the E-field but also by a magnetic coil.
  • The chamber with viewing port (small round window).
  • Front panel with chamber lift control buttons. The two outermost blue buttons have to be pressed simultaneously to lift/lower the chamber. The up/down direction of the chamber is selected with the black knob to the left. At the center is the emergency shutdown switch.
  • System power on/off buttons.
  • Perforated frontpanel for RIE RF auto match unit. This matches the radio frequency power input to the plasma for as little loss (reflection) as possible.
  • Control panel for RIE and ICP RF auto match units. The auto match unit for the ICP is located in the housing at the top of the system.
  • Control panel for Turbo pump (partly hidden by folded down protective cover for auto match unit control).
  • Front panel for RF generators (at lower edge of image).
    Note! Here two power switches have been added, one for each RF generator. This is because the generators are quite noisy, and cannot be on continously. The switches should be turned on just before an acutal etch, and switched off when the etching is over.
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Anders Liljeborg, Nanostructure Physics, KTH.