We present a complete modeling methodology applied to the simulation of the dry-etching process of SiO 2 substrates. We formulated and implemented in a profile evolution solver a surface model for the erosion of SiO 2 as consequence of the exposure to fluorocarbon plasmas. The model takes into account the concurrent ion-enhanced chemical etching of the adsorbed film and the deposition of an inhibitor film. Expressions for ion, neutral, and polymer fluxes and for the erosion yields are evaluated as global variables with respect to the profile itself. Therefore, the etch rate is calculated consistently at each profile point P and it is used as speed law F( P) in the profile solver algorithm. The model features are discussed in detail considering the effects of the variations of the physical and geometrical conditions on the overall profile evolution. The simulation results are compared with experimental etching processes we performed using a dual-frequency diode reactor etcher. In order to make our code a useful tool for the etching process development, the model parameters are related to the real machine parameters. Comparisons between simulations and scanning electron microscopy analysis of the etched profiles demonstrate the reliability of the approach.

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In this work, a 0-dimensional model for the understanding of dry etching characteristics in silicon oxide and nitride materials is reported. The model is applied to analyze the etching performances in a design of experiments where gas mixtures are varied in the fluorocarbon chemistry typical of the "protected sidewall" regime. The modeling analysis of flat sample etching allows for an accurate tuning of the selectivity's behavior, and can be generalized to deal with patterned samples. In particular, we apply a phenomenological technique to transform the equipment parameters in the microscopic quantities ruling the reagent-surface interactions. The correct prediction of the etch rate trends in flat samples and the sensibility to the different etching mechanisms for the nitride case demonstrate the reliability of the proposed approach.Index Terms-plasma etching, protected sidewall RIE, fluorocarbon plasma 0894-6507 (c)