Anisotropic reactive ion etching of aluminium using Cl2, BCl3, and CH4 gases

A technique for anisotropically etching fine line patterns in Al films using the gas combination Cl2:BCl3:CH4 is explored. The process is designed to avoid the use of CCl4 and CHCl3, both of which are known to be strong carcinogens. The etch is characterized by making use of statistically designed e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Electrochemical Society Vol. 137; no. 1; pp. 249 - 252
Main Authors LUTZE, J. W, PERERO, A. H, KRUSIUS, J. P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Pennington, NJ Electrochemical Society 1990
Subjects
Chemistry
Electrochemistry
Exact sciences and technology
General and physical chemistry
Methane
Boron Chlorine
Reactive ion etching
Chlorine
Polymer
Aluminium
Anisotropic medium
Auger electron spectrometry
Optimization
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:A technique for anisotropically etching fine line patterns in Al films using the gas combination Cl2:BCl3:CH4 is explored. The process is designed to avoid the use of CCl4 and CHCl3, both of which are known to be strong carcinogens. The etch is characterized by making use of statistically designed experiments to optimize the etch rate, selectivity, and anisotropy of the etch. The etching mechanisms is explored by the use of Auger electron spectroscopy to study polymer sidewall deposits, caused by the use of CH4 and an organic mask, which prohibit undercutting. Using this etch, the anisotropic etching of fine line features in Al films has been demonstrated with minimum lines and spaces of 500 and 300 nm, respectively. Graphs, Spectra, Photomicrographs. 9 ref.--AA(UK/US).
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0013-4651
1945-7111
DOI:10.1149/1.2086376