Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Special Aspects of the Kinetics of Reactive Ion Etching of SiO2 in Fluorine-, Chlorine-, and Bromine-Containing Plasma

  • Published:
Russian Microelectronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The influence of the type of active gas and the ratio of the concentration of the components of the CF4 + Ar, Cl2 + Ar, and HBr + Ar mixtures on the parameters of the plasma, steady-state concentrations of the active particles, and kinetics of reactive-ion etching of SiO2 is investigated. It is demonstrated that the rate of etching SiO2 decreases in the CF4–Cl2–HBr series and is characterized by nonmonotonic (with the maximum at 20–25% Ar) behaviour under the variation of the initial composition of the mixtures. It is found that the reasons for the nonmonotonicity for each of the mixtures are the increased effective probability of the interaction and decreased yield of etching due to the change in the physical parameters of the plasma and densities of the fluxes of the active particles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Advanced Plasma Processing Technology, New York: Wiley, 2008.

  2. Wolf, S. and Tauber, R.N., Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, Vol. 1: Process Technology, New York: Lattice, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Nojiri, K., Dry Etching Technology for Semiconductors, Tokyo: Springer Int., 2015.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Rooth, J.R., Industrial Plasma Engineering, Philadelphia, IOP Publ., 2001.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Lieberman, M.A. and Lichtenberg, A.J., Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, New York: Wiley, 2005.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Standaert, T.E.F.M., Hedlund, C., Joseph, E.A., and Oehrlein, G.S., Role of fluorocarbon film formation in the etching of silicon, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide, J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A, 2004, vol. 22, pp. 53–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gray, D.C., Tepermeister, I., and Sawin, H.H., Phenomenological modeling of ion enhanced surface kinetics in fluorine-based plasma etching, J. Vac. Technol., B, 1993, vol. 11, pp. 1243–1257.

  8. Jin, W., Vitale, S.A., and Sawin, H.H., Plasma-surface kinetics and simulation of feature profile evolution in Cl2 + HBr etching of polysilicon, J. Vac. Sci. Technol., 2002, vol. 20, pp. 2106–2114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Vitale, S.A., Chae, H., and Sawin, H.H., Silicon etching yields in F2, Cl2, Br2, and HBr high density plasmas, J. Vac. Sci. Technol., 2001, vol. 19, pp. 2197–2206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cheng, C.C., Guinn, K.V., Herman, I.P., and Donnelly, V.M., Competitive halogenation of silicon surfaces in HBr/Cl2 plasmas studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and in situ, realtime, pulsed laserinduced thermal desorption, J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A, 1995, vol. 13, pp. 1970–1976.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ito, T., Karahashi, K., Kang, S.-Y., and Hamaguchi, S., Evaluation of Si etching yields by Cl+ Br+ and HBr+ ion irradiation, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser., 2010, vol. 232, p. 012021.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Lee, B.J., Efremov, A., Kim, J., Kim, C., and Kwon, K.-H., Peculiarities of Si and SiO2 etching kinetics in HBr + Cl2 + O2 inductively coupled plasma, Plasma Chem. Plasma Process., 2019, vol. 39, pp. 339–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Lee, B.J., Efremov, A., and Kwon, K.-H., Plasma parameters, gas-phase chemistry and Si/SiO2 etching mechanisms in HBr + Cl2 + O2 gas mixture: effect of HBr/O2 mixing ratio, Vacuum, 2019, vol. 163, pp. 110–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Efremov, A., Lee, J., and Kwon, K.-H., A comparative study of CF4, Cl2 and HBr + Ar inductively coupled plasmas for dry etching applications, Thin Solid Films, 2017, vol. 629, pp. 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Son, J., Efremov, A., Yun, S.J., Yeom, G.Y., and Kwon, K.-H., Etching characteristics and mechanism of SiNx films for nano-devices in CH2F2/O2/Ar inductively coupled plasma: effect of O2 mixing ratio, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 2014, vol. 14, pp. 9534–9540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Johnson, E.O. and Malter, L., A floating double probe method for measurements in gas discharges, Phys. Rev., 1950, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 58–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Shun’ko, E.V., Langmuir Probe in Theory and Practice, Boca Raton, FL: Universal Publ., 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Efremov, A., Lee, J., and Kim, J., On the control of plasma parameters and active species kinetics in CF4 + O2 + Ar gas mixture by CF4/O2 and O2/Ar mixing ratios, Plasma Chem. Plasma Process., 2017, vol. 37, pp. 1445–1462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Efremov, A., Min, N.K., Choi, B.G., Baek, K.H., and Kwon, K.H., Model-based analysis of plasma parameters and active species kinetics in Cl2/X (X = Ar, He, N2) inductively coupled plasmas, J. Electrochem. Soc., 2008, vol. 155, no. 12, pp. D777–D782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kwon, K.H., Efremov, A., Kim, M., Min, N.K., Jeong, J., and Kim, K., A model-based analysis of plasma parameters and composition in HBr/X (X = Ar, He, N2) inductively coupled plasmas, J. Electrochem. Soc., 2010, vol. 157, no. 5, pp. H574–H579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lide, D.R., Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, New York, CRC, 1998–1999.

  22. Efremov, A.M., Kim, D.P., and Kim, C.I., Simple model for ion-assisted etching using Cl2-Ar inductively coupled plasma: effect of gas mixing ratio, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., 2004, vol. 32, pp. 1344–1351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This paper was supported by the Scientific Research Institute of System Analysis (SRISA/NIISI), Russian Academy of Sciences, project no. 0065-2019-0006.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Technology of Instruments and Materials of Electronic Engineering, Ivanovo State University of Chemistry and Technology, 153000, Ivanovo, Russia

    A. M. Efremov & D. B. Murin

  2. Scientific Research Institute of System Analysis, 117218, Moscow, Russia

    A. M. Efremov & V. B. Betelin

  3. Department of Control and Instrumentation Engineering, Korea University, 339-700, Sejong, South Korea

    K.-H. Kwon

Authors
  1. A. M. Efremov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. B. Murin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. V. B. Betelin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. K.-H. Kwon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. M. Efremov.

Additional information

Translated by G. Levina

Abbreviation: EEDF—electron energy distribution function.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Efremov, A.M., Murin, D.B., Betelin, V.B. et al. Special Aspects of the Kinetics of Reactive Ion Etching of SiO2 in Fluorine-, Chlorine-, and Bromine-Containing Plasma. Russ Microelectron 49, 94–102 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063739720010060

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063739720010060

Search

Navigation