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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A Année : 2024

Transient-assisted plasma etching (TAPE): Concept, mechanism, and prospects

Atefeh Fathzadeh
Philippe Bezard
Maxime Darnon
Inge Manders
  • Fonction : Auteur
Thierry Conard
Ilse Hoflijk
Frederic Lazzarino
  • Fonction : Auteur
Stefan de Gendt

Résumé

Atomic layer etching (ALE) schemes are often deemed economically unviable due to their slow pace and are not suited for every material/hard-mask combination. Conversely, plasma etching presents pattern profile challenges because of its inability to independently control ion and neutral flux. In this work, we introduce a new cyclic transient-based process, called transient-assisted plasma etching (TAPE). A cycle of TAPE is a short exposure step to a sustained flow of reactant before the reactant gas injection is stopped in the second step, resulting in a plasma transient. As the plasma ignites and a substantial amount of etchant remains, a chemically driven etching process occurs, akin to conventional etching. Later in the transient, the modified surface is exposed to a reduced etchant quantity and a sustained ion bombardment, in a similar way to ALE. The cointegration of conventional etching and atomic layer etching allows interesting compromises between etch control and processing time. Going for a transient plasma allows to provide the time and conditions needed for the necessary plasma-surface interactions to occur in one step. In this perspective, the mechanisms behind etch rate, profile correction, and conservation of surface composition using amorphous carbon, as a benchmark, are discussed.
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Dates et versions

hal-04531012 , version 1 (03-04-2024)

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Atefeh Fathzadeh, Philippe Bezard, Maxime Darnon, Inge Manders, Thierry Conard, et al.. Transient-assisted plasma etching (TAPE): Concept, mechanism, and prospects. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, 2024, 42 (3), ⟨10.1116/6.0003380⟩. ⟨hal-04531012⟩
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