Patent ID: 7459100

Claim:
In a plasma processing system, a method for optimizing etching of a substrate comprising: selecting a first plasma process recipe including a first process variable with all plasma process characteristics of said first plasma recipe other than said first process variable held constant, wherein changing said first process variable by a first amount optimizes a first substrate etch characteristic and aggravates a second substrate etch characteristic; selecting a second plasma process recipe including a second process variable with all plasma process characteristics of said second plasma recipe other than said second process variable held constant, wherein changing said second process variable by a second amount aggravates said first substrate etch characteristic and optimizes said second substrate etch characteristic; positioning a substrate on a chuck in a plasma processing chamber; striking a plasma within said plasma processing chamber; alternating between said first plasma recipe and said second plasma recipe, wherein upon completion of said alternating, said first substrate etch characteristic and said second substrate etch characteristic are substantially optimized.