Dry Etching Performance and Gas-Phase Parameters of C6F12O + Ar Plasma in Comparison with CF4 + Ar.

This research work deals with the comparative study of C6F12O + Ar and CF4 + Ar gas chemistries in respect to Si and SiO2 reactive-ion etching processes in a low power regime. Despite uncertain applicability of C6F12O as the fluorine-containing etchant gas, it is interesting because of the liquid (at room temperature) nature and weaker environmental impact (lower global warming potential). The combination of several experimental techniques (double Langmuir probe, optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) allowed one (a) to compare performances of given gas systems in respect to the reactive-ion etching of Si and SiO2; and (b) to associate the features of corresponding etching kinetics with those for gas-phase plasma parameters. It was found that both gas systems exhibit (a) similar changes in ion energy flux and F atom flux with variations on input RF power and gas pressure; (b) quite close polymerization abilities; and (c) identical behaviors of Si and SiO2 etching rates, as determined by the neutral-flux-limited regime of ion-assisted chemical reaction. Principal features of C6F12O + Ar plasma are only lower absolute etching rates (mainly due to the lower density and flux of F atoms) as well as some limitations in SiO2/Si etching selectivity.

Application of Si and SiO2 Etching Mechanisms in CF4/C4F8/Ar Inductively Coupled Plasmas for Nanoscale Patterns.

An investigation of the etching characteristics and mechanism for both Si and SiO2 in CF4/C4F8/Ar inductively coupled plasmas under a constant gas pressure (4 mTorr), total gas flow rate (40 sccm), input power (800 W), and bias power (150 W) was performed. It was found that the variations in the CF4/C4F8 mixing ratio in the range of 0-50% at a constant Ar fraction of 50% resulted in slightly non-monotonic Si and SiO2 etching rates in CF4-rich plasmas and greatly decreasing etching rates in C4F8-rich plasmas. The zero-dimensional plasma model, Langmuir probe diagnostics, and optical emission spectroscopy provided information regarding the formation-decay kinetics for the plasma active species, along with their densities and fluxes. The model-based analysis of the etching kinetics indicated that the non-monotonic etching rates were caused not by the similar behavior of the fluorine atom density but rather by the opposite changes of the fluorine atom flux and ion energy flux. It was also determined that the great decrease in both the Si and SiO2 etching rates during the transition from the CF4/Ar to C4F8/Ar gas system was due to the deposition of the fluorocarbon polymer film.

On the etching characteristics and mechanisms of HfO2 thin films in CF4/O2/Ar and CHF3/O2/Ar plasma for nano-devices.

The study of etching characteristics and mechanisms for HfO2 and Si in CF4/O2/Ar and CHF3/O2/Ar inductively-coupled plasmas was carried out. The etching rates of HfO2 thin films as well as the HfO2/Si etching selectivities were measured as functions of Ar content in a feed gas (0-50% Ar) at fixed fluorocarbon gas content (50%), gas pressure (6 mTorr), input power (700 W), bias power (200 W), and total gas flow rate (40 sccm). Plasma parameters as well as the differences in plasma chemistries for CF4- and CHF3-based plasmas were analyzed using Langmuir probe diagnostics and 0-dimensional plasma modeling. It was found that, in both gas systems, the non-monotonic (with a maximum at about 15-20% Ar) HfO2 etching rate does not correlate with monotonic changes of F atom flux and ion energy flux. It was proposed that, under the given set of experimental conditions, the HfO2 etching process is affected by the factors determining the formation and decomposition kinetics of the fluorocarbon polymer layer. These factor are the fluxes of CF(x) (x = 1, 2) radicals, O atoms and H atoms.