A New Concept for Spatially-Divided Reactive Ion Etching with ALD-Based Passivation

Roozeboom, F.; Kniknie, B.; Lankhorst, Adriaan; Winands, Gjj Hans; Knaapen, R.; Smets, Mireille M. H.; Poodt, Paul; Dingemans, G Gijs; Keuning, W.; Kessels, W.M.M.

doi:10.1149/05032.0073ecst

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…time-separated) into the spatially separated regime. 17,18 The spatial separation can be realized by inert (e.g., N 2 ) gas bearing 'curtains' with heights down to ~100 μm, or even smaller; see Fig. 4.…”

Section: Spatially-divided Reactive Ion Etching: a New Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Spatial ALD Oxide Passivation Module in an All-Spatial Etch-Passivation Cluster Concept

Roozeboom

Bruele²,

Creyghton³

et al. 2015

ECS Trans.

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Traditional plasma etching in silicon is often based on the so-called ‘Bosch’ etch with alternating half-cycles of a directional Si-etch and a fluorocarbon polymer passivation, respectively. Also shallow feature etching is often performed as a cycled process. Similarly, ALD is cyclic with the additional benefit of being composed of half-reactions that are self-limiting, thus enabling a layer-by-layer growth mode. To accelerate growth rate, spatial ALD has been commercialized as a large-scale, high-throughput, atmospheric-pressure method. In this paper we describe a related concept for high-rate spatially-divided etching which eventually may be further developed towards Atomic Layer Etching. The process is converted from the time-separated into the spatially-separated regime by inserting N2-gas ‘curtains’ confining the reactive gases to individual injection slots in a gas injector head, and also serving as gas-bearing. By moving substrates back and forth under such gas injector one can perform alternate etching/passivation-deposition cycles at optimized local pressures, thus eliminating the idle times for switching pressure or purging. An extra improvement towards an all-spatial approach is the use of ALD-based oxide (Al2O3, SiO2, etc.) as passivation during, or as gap-fill after etching. This disruptive concept, named spatial ALD-enabled RIE, has industrial potential for cost-effective front-end-of-line and back-end-of-line processing, especially in patterning structures requiring minimum interface, line edge and fin sidewall roughness (atomic-scale fidelity with selective removal of atoms and retention of sharp corners). Besides in CMOS scaling this etch concept may also become an interesting option for fast die dicing of silicon (or III/V) in TSV and MEMS processing.

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Section: Spatially-divided Reactive Ion Etching: a New Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Part of this work has been filed and published earlier. 17,18 The principle was conceived from an inspiring mix of similarities and facts: 1. The similarity of ion or neutral beam-assisted etching 19 and deposition, 13 and the advantages of plasma-enhanced ALD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Spatial ALD Oxide Passivation Module in an All-Spatial Etch-Passivation Cluster Concept

Roozeboom

Bruele²,

Creyghton³

et al. 2015

ECS Trans.

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“…The increasing demand of downscaling puts ever more stringent requirements on the fabrication of semiconductor devices. − The latest technology nodes require deposition and etch control down to a few atomic layers. To meet these requirements using conventional dry-etching processes, trade-offs have to be made between etch selectivity and profile control. − Furthermore, preventing aspect-ratio-dependent etching (ARDE) and plasma-induced damage becomes increasingly challenging .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaction Mechanism and Selectivity Control of Si Compound ALE Based on Plasma Modification and F-Radical Exposure

et al. 2021

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In this work, atomic layer etching (ALE) of Si compounds using H 2 or N 2 plasma modification followed by fluorine radical exposure is discussed. It is shown that the H 2 plasma modification process promotes the selective etching of SiN, SiC, and SiCO versus SiO 2 . The N 2 plasma modification, on the other hand, enables the selective etching of SiC and SiCO versus SiN and SiO 2 . The origin of the etching selectivity between different Si compounds is investigated using a combination of in situ SE and FTIR supported by several ex situ analysis techniques. It is shown that the formation of a hydrogen-rich layer after plasma modification is essential to enable the ALE process. The hydrogen-rich layer can be formed due to ion and radicals of the modification plasma (H 2 plasma modification) or be a result of the reconfiguration of hydrogen that is already present in the film (N 2 plasma modification). The obtained insights are expected to further enhance the etching selectivity of Si compound ALE processes. Furthermore, it is anticipated that the process can be extended to many other compound materials such as Ti and Hf, as well as enable selective etching between their oxides, carbides, and nitrides.

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Deep silicon etching: current capabilities and future directions

et al. 2014

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A New Concept for Spatially-Divided Reactive Ion Etching with ALD-Based Passivation

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

A Spatial ALD Oxide Passivation Module in an All-Spatial Etch-Passivation Cluster Concept

A Spatial ALD Oxide Passivation Module in an All-Spatial Etch-Passivation Cluster Concept

Reaction Mechanism and Selectivity Control of Si Compound ALE Based on Plasma Modification and F-Radical Exposure

Deep silicon etching: current capabilities and future directions

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