Comparison of ECR plasma chemistries for etching of InGaP and AlGaP

Etch rates for InGaP and AlGaP are examined under electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) conditions in Cl₂/Ar, BCl₃/Ar, BCl₃/N₂, ICl/Ar, and IBr/Ar discharges. All the plasmas except IBr/Ar provide rapid etching of InGaP at rates above 1 μm min⁻¹. ICl/Ar provides the highest etch rates. Unlike the Cl₂/Ar and BCl₃-based chemistries, the rates in ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar are almost independent of microwave power in the range 400–1000 W. Much lower rates were obtained for AlGaP in every discharge due to the greater difficulties in bond breaking that must precede formation and desorption of the etch products.     

ICP etching of SiC

A number of different plasma chemistries, including NF₃/O₂, SF₆/O₂, SF₆/Ar, ICl, IBr, Cl₂/Ar, BCl₃/Ar and CH₄/H₂/Ar, have been investigated for dry etching of 6H and 3C–SiC in an inductively coupled plasma tool. Rates above 2000 Å cm⁻¹ are found with fluorine-based chemistries at high ion currents. Surprisingly, Cl₂-based etching does not provide high rates, even though the potential etch products (SiCl₄ and CCl₄) are volatile. Photoresist masks have poor selectivity over SiC in F₂-based plasmas under normal conditions, and ITO or Ni is preferred.     

Electron cyclotron resonance plasma etching of materials for magneto-resistive random access memory applications

Dry etching of multilayer magnetic thin film materials is necessary for the development of sensitive magnetic field sensors and memory devices. The use of high ion density electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma etching for NiFe, NiFeCo, TaN, and CrSi in SF₆/Ar, CH₄/H₂/Ar, and Cl₂/Ar plasmas was investigated as a function of microwave source power, rf chuck power, and process pressure. All of the plasma chemistries are found to provide some enhancement in etch rates relative to pure Ar ion milling, while Cl₂/Ar provided the fastest etch rate for all four materials. Typical etch rates of 3000Å/min were found at high microwave source power. Etch rates of these metals were found to increase with rf chuck power and microwave source power, but to decrease with increasing pressure in SF₆/Ar, CH₄/H₂/Ar, and Cl₂/Ar. A significant issue with Cl₂/Ar is that it produces significant metal-chlorine surface residues that lead to post-etch corrosion problems in NiFe and NiFeCo. However, the concentration of these residues may be significantly reduced by in-situ H₂ or O₂ plasma cleaning prior to removal of the samples from the etch reactor.     

Comparison of F2 plasma chemistries for deep etching of SiC

A number of F₂-based plasma chemistries (NF₃, SF₆, PF₅, and BF₃) were investigated for high rate etching of SiC. The most advantageous of these is SF₆, based on the high rate (0.6 μm·min⁻¹) it achieves and its relatively low cost compared to NF₃. The changes in electrical properties of the near-surface region are relatively minor when the incident ion energy is kept below approximately 75 eV. At a process pressure of 5 mtorr, the SiC etch rate falls-off by ∼15% in 30 μm diameter via holes compared to larger diameter holes (>60 μm diameter) or open areas on the mask. We also measured the effect of exposed SiC area on the etch rate of the material.     

Comparison of dry etching of III-V semiconductors in ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar electron cyclotron resonance plasmas

ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar plasmas were found to be promising candidates for room temperature dry etching processing of the III-V semiconductors GaAs, AlGaAs, GaSb, InP, InGaAs, and InSb. Results showed fast etch rates (0.7 μm/min in ICl/Ar and −0.3 μm/min in IBr/Ar), and at high microwave power, 1000 W, good surface morphology (typical root mean square roughness ∼2 nm), while retaining the near-surface stoichiometry, especially in IBr/Ar plasmas. There was little change of surface smoothness over a wide range of plasma compositions for Gacontaining materials in both ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar plasmas, (e.g. GaAs), while there was a window region with about 25–50% of IBr in IBr/Ar plasmas to maintain good morphology of In-containing semiconductors like InP. Selectivities of 4–10 over mask materials such as SiO₂, SiN_x, and W were typical in ICl/Ar plasmas.     

Effect of UV light irradiation on SiC dry etch rates

Inductively Coupled Plasma etching of 4H-SiC under ultraviolet illumination was examined for SF₆/Ar and Cl₂/Ar chemistries. Etch rate enhancements up to a factor of 8 were observed with UV light irradiation during Cl₂/Ar etching. The enhancement mechanism is related to photodesorption of SiCl_x and CCl_x species. Surface morphologies were unchanged as a result of the UV enhancement with Cl₂/Ar discharges. By contrast, there was no effect of UV irradiation on the SiC etch rates in SF₆/Ar plasmas, but the surfaces were typically smoother than those obtained without the ultraviolet illumination. In the SF₆/Ar chemistry the rate-limiting steps are either Si-C bond-breaking or supply of fluorine radicals to the surface, and not desorption of the SiF_x and CF_x etch products.     

Dry etching of III-V semiconductors in IBr/Ar electron cyclotron resonance plasmas

IBr/Ar plasmas were found to be promising candidates for room temperature dry etch processing of the III-V semiconductors GaAs, AlGaAs, GaSb, InP, InGaAs, and InSb. Results showed fast etch rates (～3,000Å/min) at high microwave power (1000W) and good surface morphology (typical root mean square roughness ～2 nm), while retaining the near-surface stoichiometry. There was little variation of surface smoothness over a wide range of plasma compositions for Gacontaining materials. By contrast, there was a plasma composition window of about 25–50% of IBr in IBr/Ar plasmas for maintaining good morphology of Incontaining semiconductors like InP. Etch rates of the semiconductors generally increased with microwave power (400-1000 W) and rf power (50-250 W), whereas there was little dependence of the rates on the increasing percentage of IBr in the IBr/Ar plasma composition above 30% IBr for In-based, and 50% IBr for Ga-based materials. Those results show the etch rates over 30% of IBr in IBr/ Ar are desorption-limited. Photoresist masks do not hold up well to the IBr under ECR conditions, resulting in poor profile control, whereas SiN_x offers much better etch resistance.     

Inductively coupled plasma etching of InGaP, AllnP, and AlGaP in Cl2 and BCl3 chemistries

Dry etching of InGaP, AlInP, and AlGaP in inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) is reported as a function of plasma chemistry (BCl₃ or Cl₂, with additives of Ar, N₂, or H₂), source power, radio frequency chuck power, and pressure. Smooth anisotropic pattern transfer at peak etch rates of 1000–2000Å·min^?1 is obtained at low DC self-biases (?100V dc) and pressures (2 mTorr). The etch mechanism is characterized by a trade-off between supplying sufficient active chloride species to the surface to produce a strong chemical enhancement of the etch rate, and the efficient removal of the chlorinated etch products before a thick selvedge layer is formed. Cl₂ produces smooth surfaces over a wider range of conditions than does BCl₃.     

Etching of silicon carbide for device fabrication and through via-hole formation

We have investigated the etching of SiC using inductively-coupled-plasma reactive ion etching with SF₆-based and Cl₂-based gas mixtures. Etch rates have been investigated as functions of bias voltage, ICP coil power, and chamber pressure. It will be shown, for the first time, that SiC surfaces etched in Cl₂-based plasmas yield better surface electrical characteristics than those etched in SF₆-based plasmas. We have also achieved SiC etch rates in excess of 1 μm/min which are suitable for micro-machining and via-hole applications. Through via-holes obtained in 140 μm thick SiC at an effective etch rate of 824 nm/min have been achieved. To the best of our knowledge, to date, this is the highest effective etch rate for a through via-hole etched with a masking process compatible with microelectronic fabrication.     

Low bias dry etching of III-nitrides in Cl2-based inductively coupled plasmas

Cl₂-based inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) with low additional dc self-biases (?100V) produce convenient etch rates (500–1500Å·min^?1) for III-nitride electronic device structures. A systematic study of the effects of additive gas (Ar, N₂, H₂), discharge composition, process pressure, and ICP source power and chuck power on etch rate and surface morphology has been performed. The general trends are to go through a maximum in etch rate with percent Cl₂ in the discharge for all three mixtures, and to have an increase (decrease) in etch rate with source power (pressure). Since the etching is strongly ion-assisted, anisotropic pattern transfer is readily achieved. Maximum etch selectivities of approximately six for InN over the other nitrides were obtained.     

Reactive ion etching of trenches in 6H-SiC

In this paper, we report the reactive ion etching (RIE) of trenches in 6H-silicon carbide using SF₆/O₂. The plasma parameters: etchant composition, gas flow rate, chamber pressure, and radio frequency power were optimized to obtain a maximum etch rate of 360Å/min. The etch rate of SiC was found to exhibit a direct correlation with the dc self bias except when the O₂ percentage was varied. Trenches were fabricated using the optimized conditions. It was found that the trench surface was extremely rough due to the aluminum micromasking effect. To overcome this effect, a Teflon^TM sheet was used to cover the cathode during the experiment. The trenches fabricated using this modification were found to have smooth etched surfaces and sidewalls. The angle of anisotropy of these trenches was approximately 80° which is suitable for device applications.     

Dry etch selectivity of Gd2O3 to GaN and AlN

Gd₂O₃ is a promising gate dielectric for GaN, but little is known of its dry etching characteristics. We achieved Gd₂O₃ etch rates up to ～600 Å · min^?1 in high density Cl2-based discharges, with maximum selectivities of ～15 over GaN and ～4 over AlN. Pure Cl₂ discharges produced reverse selectivities for both Gd₂O₃/GaN and Gd₂O₃/AlN, with typical values between 0.1–0.4. When a rare gas additive such as Ar or Xe was added to the plasma chemistry, the nitrides etched faster than the oxide. This indicates that volatile etch products (GaCl₃, AlCl₃, N₂) form in Cl₂-based plasmas once the GaN or AlN bonds are broken by ion bombardment, but that GdCl_x species are not volatile. In conjunction with the low efficiency for Gd₂O₃ bond-breaking at low ion energies, this leads to low selectivity.     

Formation technology of through metallized holes to sources of high-power GaN/SiC high electron mobility transistors

The technology of through metallized holes to sources of high-power GaN/SiC high electron mobility transistors is studied. The dependences of the reactive ion etch rate of SiC in the inductively coupled plasma discharge on the pressure of the SF₆/O₂/Ar gas mixture (5–40 mTorr), the high-frequency power applied to the bottom electrode (200–300 W), the working gas flow ratio (5 : 1 : (0–10)), and the bottom electrode temperatures (5–50°C) are studied. Based on these dependences, the hole etching process on 76-mm-diameter SiC substrates 50 and 100 μm thick is developed. The process features smooth etched-surface morphology, a high rate (1 μm/min), and low high-frequency power deposited into the inductively coupled plasma discharge (1000 W). The developed process of hole etching in SiC substrates is characterized by the selectivity coefficient S = 12 and the anisotropy coefficient A = 13. Films based on NiB are recommended as masks for etching through holes into SiC substrates. The processes of through-hole metallization by the electrochemical deposition of Ni and Au layers are developed.     

Reactive ion etch characteristics of thin InGaAs and AlGaAs stop-etch layers

Highly selective reactive ion etch processes, which can be used to remove one layer from very thin underlying layers, are of interest for a variety of device fabrication sequences. We present the results of a study on the suitability of In_xGa_1-xAs(x = 0.06, 0.14) and Al_xGa_1-xAs(x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.9) as stop-etch layers. Layer thicknesses ranged from 30 to 250Å. Etch chemistries were SiCl₄ and SiCl₄/SF₆ for the InGaAs and AlGaAs layers, repectively. The relative efficiency of the stop-etch layers was investigated as a function of the thickness and composition of the layer, and as a function of the etch conditions.     

Surface contamination and damage from CF4 and SF6 reactive ion etching of silicon oxide on gallium arsenide

Two reactive ion etchants, CF₄ and SF₆, have been compared in terms of plasma characteristics, silicon oxide etch characteristics, extent of RIE damage, and formation of barrier layers on a GaAs surface after oxide etch. It was found that higher etch rates with lower plasma-induced dc bias can be achieved with SF₆ plasma relative to CF₄ plasma and that this correlates with higher atomic fluorine concentration in SF₆ plasma. RIE damage, measured by loss of sheet conductance in a thin highly-doped GaAs layer, could be modelled as a region of deep acceptors at a high concentration in the conductive layer. By relating the sheet conductance change to the modelled damaged layer thickness, it was found that the RIE-damaged thickness from both CF₄ and SF₆ plasmas had the same linear relation to plasma dc bias. Barriers to subsequent GaAs RIE were created during oxide overetch at the GaAs surface. The barriers were identified by XPS as ∼20 A of GaF₃ for CF₄ plasma and ∼30 A of GaF₃ on top of As_xS_y for SF₆ plasma. Ellipsometry was used to routinely determine the presence or absence of the barriers which could be removed in dilute ammonia.     

ICP刻蚀损伤对金属场板结构SiC肖特基二极管电学性能的影响

本文通过电感耦合等离子体（ICP）系统地研究了各种刻蚀参数对4H-SiC刻蚀的影响,并进一步研究了刻蚀损伤对金属场板结构4H-SiC肖特基二极管电学性能的影响。研究表明刻蚀速率和SiC表面形貌都会受到ICP功率、RF功率、压强和刻蚀气体流量的影响。在高的ICP偏压下,观察到了刻蚀损伤（刻蚀坑和刻蚀锥）的形成。更深入的研究表明,这些刻蚀损伤的形成和SiC自身的缺陷有关。这些刻蚀损伤的存在会导致SiC肖特基二极管正反向I-V性能发生恶化。在刻蚀损伤严重的情况下,对比正反向I-V测试结果发现,在0~50V的绝对电压范围内,正向电流甚至远小于反向电流。     

Plasma chemistries for dry etching of NiFe and NiFeCo

Plasma chemistries based on chlorine, bromine, or iodine have been investigated for inductively coupled plasma etching of NiFe and NiFeCo. There is clear evidence of a chemically enhanced etch mechanism with both Cl₂- and I₂- based mixtures, with no enhancement present for Br₂ chemistries. Etch yields are typically low (≤0.25), emphasizing the need for high ion fluxes in order to achieve practical material removal rates.     

Deep dry etching of borosilicate glass using SF6 and SF6/Ar inductively coupled plasmas

Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of borosilicate glass was carried out using SF₆ and SF₆/Ar plasmas in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactor. Electroplated Ni on Cu (≅50 nm)/Cr (≅100 nm)/glass structure using patterned SU-8 photoresist mask with a line spacing of 12-15 μm was used as a hard-mask for plasma etching. Plasma etching of borosilicate glass was performed by varying the various process parameters such as the gas chemistry, the gas flow ratio, the top electrode power, and the dc self-bias voltage (V_dc). In the case of using SF₆ gas only, the profiles of the etched channel showed the undercut below the Ni hard-mask due to a chemical etching and the microtrenching at the bottom of the etched channel. An optimized process using the SF₆ plasmas showed the glass etch rate of ≅750 nm/min. The addition of the Ar gas to the SF₆ gas removed the undercut and microtrenching but decreased the etch rate to ≅540 nm/min. The increasing and decreasing time-dependent etch rates with the etch depth in the SF₆ (200 sccm) and SF₆(60%)/Ar(40%) plasmas, respectively, were ascribed to the different ion-to-neutral flux ratios leading to the different etch process regime.     

UV-photoassisted etching of GaN in KOH

The etch rate of GaN under ultraviolet-assisted photoelectrochemical conditions in KOH solutions is found to be a strong function of illumination intensity, solution molarity, sample bias, and material doping level. At low e-h pair generation rates, grain boundaries are selectively etched, while at higher illumination intensities etch rates for unintentionally doped (n～ 3×10¹⁶cm^?3) GaN are ≥1000Å·min^?1. The etching is diffusion-limited under our conditions with an activation energy of ～ 0.8kCal·mol^?1. The etched surfaces are rough, but retain their stoichiometry.     

Etching of <Superscript>10</Superscript>Boron with SF<Subscript>6</Subscript>-based Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasmas for Pillar-Structured Thermal Neutron Detectors

Isotopically enriched ¹⁰boron for use in pillar-structured neutron detectors was successfully etched in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma using SF₆-based plasmas. The effects of radio frequency (RF) power, ECR power, gas flow rate, H₂ and O₂ incorporation into the plasma, and gas mixture ratios were examined. Etch rates up to approximately 1.35 μm/min were realized. In addition, etch morphology was examined, and the final shape of ¹⁰boron-coated pillars could be controlled through the etch gas mixture utilized. Selectivity to the underlying Si structure was apparent from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of completed etches.