Plasma etching of SiC surface using NF3

Abstract

NF 3 was applied in the reactive ion etching of SiC. The effects of rf power and NF3 pressure on the etching rate and the surface morphology were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. A procedure for getting the smooth and residue-free etched surface of SiC with a high etching rate of 87 nm/min was obtained under the conditions such as rf power of 100 W and NF3 pressure ranging from 0.5 to 1 Pa. A rough surface with spikes was obtained under the NF3 pressures higher than 3 Pa. It was found that the repetitive alternating treatment for the spike-formed and rough surface with the down flow etching using NF3 and Ar plasma sputtering enables us to obtain the smooth surface within the scale of ∼300 nm.

Molecular dynamics simulations of CF3 etching of SiC

“…Compared with CF 3 etching Si [15], the similar reaction layer is formed through which Si atoms are etched. This phenomenon is also observed by experiment [27].…”

Low-Stress CMOS-Compatible Silicon Carbide Surface-Micromachining Technology—Part I: Process Development and Characterization

“…There are a few reports using Cl 2 [45] and HBr [46], but the majority of the research in this area has focused on the use of fluorinated plasmas such as NF 3 [47], SF 6 [48], CHF 3 [49], CF 4 [50], and CBrF 3 [43]. Three of these gases (NF 3 , SF 6 , and CHF 3 ) were investigated to etch a-SiC using an Applied Materials P5000 RIE system equipped with a magnetically enhanced (ME) chamber.…”

Electrochemical synthesis and application of NF3

“…3.5. Plasma etching of SiC surface using NF 3 [46,47] Silicon carbide (SiC) is a highly promising semiconductor material for use in high-temperature and high-power electronicdevice applications such as automotive and aircraft engine monitoring microwave communications, thin-film transistor technology, light sensors, solar cells, and diagnostic medical imaging. This is because of the attractive properties of SiC, such as a wide band gap (2.3 eV) at 300 K, a high thermal conductivity (5 W/cm 8C), its high breakdown electric field (3.0 Â 10 6 V/cm), and high saturated electron-drift velocity (2.70 Â 10 7 cm/s).…”