Chemical downstream etching of tungsten
- Microelectronics Development Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1077 (United States)
- Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1077 (United States)
The downstream etching of tungsten and tungsten oxide has been investigated. Etching of chemical vapor deposited tungsten and e-beam deposited tungsten oxide samples was performed using atomic fluorine generated by a microwave discharge of argon and NF{sub 3}. Etching was found to be highly activated with activation energies approximated to be 6.0{plus_minus}0.5thinspkcal/mol and 5.4{plus_minus}0.4thinspkcal/mol for W and WO{sub 3}, respectively. In the case of F etching of tungsten, the addition of undischarged nitric oxide (NO) directly into the reaction chamber results in the competing effects of catalytic etch rate enhancement and the formation of a nearly stoichiometric WO{sub 3} passivating tungsten oxide film, which ultimately stops the etching process. For F etching of tungsten oxide, the introduction of downstream NO reduces the etch rate. {copyright} {ital 1998 American Vacuum Society.}
- OSTI ID:
- 638757
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, A, Vol. 16, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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