Abstract

It is by now quite well established that photon beams, in particular lasers, can be used to induce or enhance chemical interactions between a gas and a solid surface.¹ Also, recent advances in applications of lasers to induce chemical etching and vapor deposition have raised firm expectation that the laser techniques may have significant impact on processing materials for microelectronics. The fundamental processes including the process of chemisorption, the reaction between the adsorbates and substrate atoms, and the vaporization of product species affected by the laser radiation resulting in chemical etching of solids will be discussed. Experimental characterizations with optical and electron spectroscopies and time-resolved mass spectrometry to obtain better understanding of the basic gas-surface reaction mechanisms will be presented. A review on current studies of the subject will also be given.²

© 1984 Optical Society of America