Modeling of the angular dependence of plasma etching
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
An understanding of the angular dependence of etching yield is essential to investigate the origins of sidewall roughness during plasma etching. In this article the angular dependence of polysilicon etching in Cl{sub 2} plasma was modeled as a combination of individual angular-dependent etching yields for ion-initiated processes including physical sputtering, ion-induced etching, vacancy generation, and removal. The modeled etching yield exhibited a maximum at {approx}60 degree sign off-normal ion angle at low flux ratio, indicative of physical sputtering. It transformed to the angular dependence of ion-induced etching with the increase in the neutral-to-ion flux ratio. Good agreement between the modeling and the experiments was achieved for various flux ratios and ion energies. The variation of etching yield in response to the ion angle was incorporated in the three-dimensional profile simulation and qualitative agreement was obtained. The surface composition was calculated and compared to x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The modeling indicated a Cl areal density of 3x10{sup 15} atoms/cm{sup 2} on the surface that is close to the value determined by the XPS analysis. The response of Cl fraction to ion energy and flux ratio was modeled and correlated with the etching yields. The complete mixing-layer kinetics model with the angular dependence effect will be used for quantitative surface roughening analysis using a profile simulator in future work.
- OSTI ID:
- 22051051
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 27, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2009 American Vacuum Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1553-1813
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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