Etch Mechanism of AlN Thin Film in Cl2/Ar Inductively Coupled Plasma
The etching characteristics of aluminum nitride (AlN) were investigated with the etch rate of AlN thin film and the selectivity of AlN to SiO 2 in an inductively coupled Cl 2 /Ar plasma. The AlN etch rate was linearly increased with increasing bias power. However, the AlN etch rate appeared a non-mo...
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Published in | Transactions on electrical and electronic materials Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 569 - 577 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Seoul
The Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers (KIEEME)
2022
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The etching characteristics of aluminum nitride (AlN) were investigated with the etch rate of AlN thin film and the selectivity of AlN to SiO
2
in an inductively coupled Cl
2
/Ar plasma. The AlN etch rate was linearly increased with increasing bias power. However, the AlN etch rate appeared a non-monotonic behavior with an increasing Cl
2
ratio in the Cl
2
/Ar plasma and pressure. Since the AlN thin films were of the relatively high melting point and binding energy, the high energetic positive ions were required to break Al-N bonds and to form volatile etch by-products, resulting in a high etch rate. The chemical condition on the surfaces of AlN thin films was investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the volatile etch by-products were observed. As a result, AlN etching mechanisms have been suggested to be an ion-enhanced chemical etching. |
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ISSN: | 1229-7607 2092-7592 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s42341-022-00408-6 |