Processing and characterization of a-Si:H photoresists for a vacuum-compatible photolithography process |
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Authors: | Jacobs R N Stoltz A J Robinson E W Boyd P R Almeida L A Dinan J H Salamanca-Riba L |
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Affiliation: | (1) United States Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, 22060 Fort Belvoir, VA;(2) United States Army Research Laboratory, 20873 Adelphi, MD;(3) Materials Science & Engineering Department, University of Maryland, 20742 College Park, MD |
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Abstract: | The vision of achieving a completely in-vacuum process for fabricating HgCdTe detector arrays is contingent on the availability
of a vacuumcompatible photolithography technology. One such technology for vacuum photolithography involves the use of amorphous-hydrogenated
Si (a-Si:H) as a photoresist. In this work, we deposit a-Si:H resists via plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition (PECVD)
using an Ar-diluted silane precursor. The resists are then patterned via excimer laser exposure and development etched in
a hydrogen plasma where etch selectivities between unexposed and exposed regions exceed 600:1. To determine the best conditions
for the technique, we investigate the effects of different exposure environments and carry out an analysis of the a-Si:H surfaces
before and after development etching. Analysis via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the excimer-exposed
surfaces are polycrystalline in nature, indicating that the mechanism for pattern generation in this study is based on melting
and crystallization. To demonstrate pattern transfer, underlying CdTe films were etched (after development of the resist)
in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma, where etch selectivities of approximately 8:1 have been achieved. The significance
of this work is the demonstration of laser-induced poly-Si as an etching mask for vacuum-compatible photolithography. |
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Keywords: | a-Si:H dry etching photolithography dry processing plasmaenhanced chemical-vapor deposition (PECVD) CdTe HgCdTe |
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