Cleaning Lab: Chemical Ashing vs Physical Sputtering

A hydrocarbon film sits on your substrate. Pick the plasma chemistry, set the power, and watch how each mechanism takes the contamination apart.

Schematic teaching model. The mechanism split is real — O₂ radicals convert organics to volatile CO₂/H₂O (chemical ashing), Ar ions knock material off ballistically (sputtering), and mixtures combine chemistry with ion assist — but removal rates, film thickness, and the cleanliness meter are illustrative, not calibrated; real rates depend on pressure, reactor, bias, and the contaminant itself.