High-density plasma etching of indium–zinc oxide films in Ar/Cl 2 and Ar/CH 4/H 2 chemistries
The dry etching characteristics of transparent and conductive indium–zinc oxide (IZO) films have been investigated using an inductively coupled high-density plasma. While the Cl 2-based plasma mixture showed little enhancement over physical sputtering in a pure argon atmosphere, the CH 4/H 2/Ar chem...
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Published in | Applied surface science Vol. 253; no. 5; pp. 2752 - 2757 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Elsevier B.V
30.12.2006
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The dry etching characteristics of transparent and conductive indium–zinc oxide (IZO) films have been investigated using an inductively coupled high-density plasma. While the Cl
2-based plasma mixture showed little enhancement over physical sputtering in a pure argon atmosphere, the CH
4/H
2/Ar chemistry produced an increase of the IZO etch rate. On the other hand, the surface morphology of IZO films after etching in Ar and Ar/Cl
2 discharges is smooth, whereas that after etching in CH
4/H
2/Ar presents particle-like features resulting from the preferential desorption of In- and O-containing products. Etching in CH
4/H
2/Ar also produces formation of a Zn-rich surface layer, whose thickness (∼40
nm) is well-above the expected range of incident ions in the material (∼1
nm). Such alteration of the IZO layer after etching in CH
4/H
2/Ar plasmas is expected to have a significant impact on the transparent electrode properties in optoelectronic device fabrication. |
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ISSN: | 0169-4332 1873-5584 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.apsusc.2006.05.052 |