A method for treating a flexible plastic substrate is provided herein. The method includes establishing an atmospheric pressure plasma beam from an inert gas using a power of greater than about 90W, directing the plasma beam toward a surface of the flexible polymer substrate, and scanning the plasma beam across the surface of the polymer substrate to form a treated substrate surface.

Apparatus comprising: a support arranged to transport a moving substrate; a plasma generator arranged to generate plasma; and an electrode arranged to bias ions within the plasma towards the moving substrate to form an ion flux. The ion flux has an energy level between 3.6 eV and 250 eV. Alternatively, apparatus for defining plasma having a plurality of spaced race track portions.

The present invention provides an electronic or electrical device or component thereof comprising a cross-linked polymeric coating on a surface of the electronic or electrical device or component thereof; wherein the cross-linked polymeric coating is obtainable by exposing the electronic or electrical device or component thereof to a plasma comprising a monomer compound and a crosslinking reagent for a period of time sufficient to allow formation of the cross-linked polymeric coating on a surface thereof,

wherein the monomer compound has the following formula:

##STR00001##

where R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.4 are each independently selected from hydrogen, optionally substituted branched or straight chain C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl or halo alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by halo, and R.sub.3 is selected from:

##STR00002##

where each X is independently selected from hydrogen, a halogen, optionally substituted branched or straight chain C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl, halo alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by halo; and n.sub.1 is an integer from 1 to 27; and wherein the crosslinking reagent comprises two or more unsaturated bonds attached by means of one or more linker moieties and has a boiling point at standard pressure of less than 500 C.

A film having filling capability of a patterned recess on a surface of a substrate is deposited by forming a viscous material in a gas phase by striking a plasma in a chamber filled with a volatile precursor that can be polymerized within certain parameter ranges which include a partial pressure of the precursor during a plasma strike and substrate temperature.

The present invention provides an electronic or electrical device or component thereof comprising a cross-linked polymeric coating on a surface of the electronic or electrical device or component thereof; wherein the cross-linked polymeric coating is obtainable by exposing the electronic or electrical device or component thereof to a plasma comprising a monomer compound and a crosslinking reagent for a period of time sufficient to allow formation of the cross-linked polymeric coating on a surface thereof, wherein the monomer compound has the following formula: ##STR00001##
where R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.4 are each independently selected from hydrogen, optionally substituted branched or straight chain C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl or halo alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by halo, and R.sub.3 is selected from: ##STR00002##
where each X is independently selected from hydrogen, a halogen, optionally substituted branched or straight chain C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl, halo alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by halo; and n.sub.1 is an integer from 1 to 27; and wherein the crosslinking reagent comprises two or more unsaturated bonds attached by means of one or more linker moieties and has a boiling point at standard pressure of less than 500 C.

Provided herein is a method for producing hollow contact areas for insertion bonding, formed on a semiconductor substrate comprising a stack of one or more metallization layers on a surface of the substrate. Openings are etched in a dielectric layer by plasma etching, using a resist layer as a mask. The resist layer and plasma etch parameters are chosen to obtain openings with sloped sidewalls having a pre-defined slope, due to controlled formation of a polymer layer forming on the sidewalls of the resist hole and the hollow contact opening formed during etching. According to a preferred embodiment, metal deposited in the hollow contact areas and on top of the dielectric layer is planarized using chemical mechanical polishing, leading to mutually isolated contact areas. The disclosure is also related to components obtainable by the method and to a semiconductor package comprising such components.

A device for generating a plasma jet is disclosed. A nozzle of the device comprises an inner, middle and outer channel surrounding each other and electrically insulated from each other. The device is configured for flowing through the inner, middle and outer channel respectively a first ignitable gas, a monomer precursor and a second ignitable gas towards their respective exit openings. A high voltage electrode is arranged in the inner channel for generating a plasma from the first ignitable gas. The nozzle further comprises a nozzle cap enclosing a mixing volume after the exit openings of the inner, middle and outer channel. The nozzle cap is provided with an exit opening after the mixing volume, which exit opening is smaller than the exit opening of the outer channel.

A method of forming an insulating film on a substrate having a recess, includes preparing the substrate inside a chamber of a processing apparatus, forming a flowable oligomer film on the substrate by supplying a processing gas containing a raw material gas and a diluent gas into the chamber and generating a flowable oligomer by plasma polymerization, controlling an interior of the chamber to have a pressure equal to or lower than a vapor pressure of the flowable oligomer to partially vaporize and remove the flowable oligomer film, and forming the insulating film in the recess by supplying energy to the substrate to cure the flowable oligomer.

The present invention provides an electronic or electrical device or component thereof comprising a cross-linked polymeric coating on a surface of the electronic or electrical device or component thereof; wherein the cross-linked polymeric coating is obtainable by exposing the electronic or electrical device or component thereof to a plasma comprising a monomer compound and a crosslinking reagent for a period of time sufficient to allow formation of the cross-linked polymeric coating on a surface thereof, wherein the monomer compound has the following formula: where R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.4 are each independently selected from hydrogen, optionally substituted branched or straight chain C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl or halo alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by halo, and R.sub.3 is selected from: or where each X is independently selected from hydrogen, a halogen, optionally substituted branched or straight chain C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl, halo alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by halo; and n.sub.1 is an integer from to 27; and wherein the crosslinking reagent comprises two or more unsaturated bonds attached by means of one or more linker moieties and has a boiling point at standard pressure of less than 500 C.

##STR00001##

A device for generating a plasma jet is disclosed. A nozzle of the device comprises an inner, middle and outer channel surrounding each other and electrically insulated from each other. The device is configured for flowing through the inner, middle and outer channel respectively a first ignitable gas, a monomer precursor and a second ignitable gas towards their respective exit openings. A high voltage electrode is arranged in the inner channel for generating a plasma from the first ignitable gas. The nozzle further comprises a nozzle cap enclosing a mixing volume after the exit openings of the inner, middle and outer channel. The nozzle cap is provided with an exit opening after the mixing volume, which exit opening is smaller than the exit opening of the outer channel.