Volatile vs Non-Volatile Etch Products: Understanding the Difference

[readaynrand]

What does it mean that an etch product (for example from sputtering or chemical etching) is volatile / non volatile?

 

[berkeman]

What does it mean that an etch product (for example from sputtering or chemical etching) is volatile / non volatile?

Do you mean as in semiconductor IC production? Or some other kind of production? Could you please be more specific, and give some examples?

 

[readaynrand]

Do you mean as in semiconductor IC production?

Exactly.

One example is sputter etching, where ions are accelerated to the surface to knock off surface atoms due to momentum transfer. My textbook says that these products are not volatile.

Another method is Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) where ions make a low reactive surface more reactive, e.g. due to damaging, to allow for the gas phases species to react and form etch products that are volatile, according to my textbook.