DENNA PAUL

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Contents
DCGlowDischargeandRFPlasma
RFPlasmaEquivalentCircuit

PlasmaChemistryandSurfaceReactions

EtchAnisotropyandFeatureSizeControl
EdgeProfiles
ReactionIonEtchers
FutureTrends
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Dry Etch
Plasma etch
Reactive ion etch
Difference between Plasma and Reactive Ion Etching
In RIE, the rf-driven electrode instead of the grounded
electrode holds the wafer.
RIE is also called RSE Reactive Sputter Etching.
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Parallel plate Etcher
Equipment description
A typical (parallel plate) RIE system consists of a
cylindrical vacuum chamber, with a wafer platter
situated in the bottom portion of the chamber.
The wafer platter is electrically isolated from the rest of
the chamber, which is usually grounded.
Gas enters through small inlets in the top of the chamber,
and exits to the vacuum pump system through the
bottom.
The types and amount of gas used vary depending upon
the etch process; for instance, sulfur hexafluoride is
commonly used for etching silicon.
Gas pressure is typically maintained in a range between
a few millitorr and a few hundred millitorr by adjusting
gas flow rates and/or adjusting an exhaust orifice.
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Method of operation
Plasma is initiated in the system by applying a strong RF
electromagnetic field to the wafer platter.
The field is typically set to a frequency of 13.56 MHz,
applied at a few hundred watts.
The oscillating electric field ionizes the gas molecules by
stripping them of electrons, creating a plasma.
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Contd.
In each cycle of the field, the electrons are electrically accelerated
up and down in the chamber, sometimes striking both the upper
wall of the chamber and the wafer platter.
At the same time, the much more massive ions move relatively
little in response to the RF electric field.
When electrons are absorbed into the chamber walls they are
simply fed out to ground and do not alter the electronic state of the
system.
However, electrons absorbed into the wafer platter cause the
platter to build up charge due to its DC isolation.
This charge build up develops a large negative voltage on the
platter, typically around a few hundred volts.
The plasma itself develops a slightly positive charge due to the
higher concentration of positive ions compared to free electrons.
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Contd.
Because of the large voltage difference, positive ions
tend to drift toward the wafer platter, where they
collide with the samples to be etched.
The ions react chemically with the materials on the
surface of the samples, but can also knock off
(sputter) some material by transferring some of their
kinetic energy.
Due to the mostly vertical delivery of reactive ions,
reactive ion etching can produce very anisotropic
etch profiles.
Etch conditions in an RIE system depend strongly on
the many process parameters, such as pressure, gas
flows, and RF power. A modified version of RIE is
deep reactive-ion etching, used to excavate deep
features.
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Equipment
An RIE consists of two
electrodes (1 and 4) that
create an electric field (3)
meant to accelerate ions (2)
toward the surface of the
samples (5).
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Plasma Etch Processes
Dielectric etch
Single-crystal silicon etch
Polysilicon etch
Metal etch
Photoresist strip
Blanket dry etch processes
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Etch Mechanisms
Damaging mechanism
Blocking mechanism
Both are related to the ion bombardment
* Dielectric etch processes use a damaging
mechanism
* Single-crystal silicon, poly and metal etch
processes use blocking mechanism
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Damaging mechanism
Closer to the physical etch side
To improve anisotropic profile increase ion
bombardment and RF power and decrease pressure
Disadvantages
Increased ion bombardment on the inner surfaces of the
chamber reduces their life.
Can cause plasma-induced device damage
This also increases particle contamination
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Blocking mechanism
In this process, Chemical deposition during the etch
process protects the sidewall and blocks etching in
the horizontal direction.
If the hard photoresist is left on the wafer, ion
bombardment will sputter some of the PR into the gap.
PR coating on the side wall will block the etching in that
direction.
PR deposited on the bottom will be constantly removed by
the bombardment from the plasma and expose the surface
of the wafer to the etchants.
Closure to the chemical etch side
Requires less ion bombardment
Disadvantage The sidewall deposition needs to be
cleaned by either dry or wet clean process or both
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PR atomic oxygen
Silicon fluorine containing gas
CF4
Designed for isotropic etch
Barrel-etcher
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Remote Plasma System
Designed for isotropic etch
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Batch RIE System h337a
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Comparison of etch processes
Chemical Etch RIE Physical Etch
Examples Wet etch, Strip,
RP etch
Plasma
patterned etches
Argon
sputtering
Etch Rate High to low High,
Controllable
Low
Selectivity Very good Reasonable,
Controllable
Very poor
Etch Profile Isotropic Anisotropic,
Controllable
Anisotropic
End Point Timed or visual Optic Timed
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Etch Endpoint
For Wet Etch
BY time pre-measured etch rate &
etch thickness
* Visual inspection
sensitive to etchant concentration
and temperature
For plasma etch - optical method
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Thank You
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