Energy dependence of ion-assisted chemical etch rates in reactive plasmas

Journal Article · Mon Aug 15 04:00:00 EDT 2005 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2031936· OSTI ID:20702593

Stafford, L; Margot, J; Chaker, M; Pearton, S J ^[1]

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1. Departement de physique, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

In a highly cited paper, Steinbruechel [C. Steinbruechel, Appl. Phys. Lett. 55, 1960 (1989)] has demonstrated that in the sub-keV region the etch yield scales like the square root of the ion energy. Based on this result, many authors have subsequently applied this specific energy dependence to ion-assisted chemical etch rates of various materials in different etch tools. In this work, it is demonstrated that in contrast to the etch yield, the etch rate cannot universally be modeled by a simple square-root energy dependence. A novel model accounting for the correct energy dependence of ion-assisted chemical etch rates is therefore proposed. Application of this model to the etching of SiO{sub 2} and ZnO in halogenated plasma chemistries provides a quantitative description of the simultaneous dependence of the etch rate on ion energy and on ion and reactive neutral fluxes.

• OSTI ID: 20702593
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 87; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ENERGY DEPENDENCE
ETCHING
ION BEAMS
PLASMA
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICON OXIDES
ZINC OXIDES