Cryogenic etching of silicon with SF sub(6) inductively coupled plasmas: a combined modelling and experimental study

• Published in: Journal of physics. D, Applied physics Applied physics, 2015-04, Vol.48 (15), p.1-8
• Main Authors: Tinck, Stefan, Tillocher, Thomas, Dussart, Remi, Bogaerts, Annemie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Etching; Flux; Inductively coupled plasma; Mathematical models; Plasma (physics); Silicon; Surface reactions; Wafers
• ISSN: 0022-3727; 1361-6463
• DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/48/15/155204

A hybrid Monte Carlo-fluid model is applied to simulate the wafer-temperature-dependent etching of silicon with SF sub(6) inductively coupled plasmas (ICP). The bulk plasma within the ICP reactor volume as well as the surface reactions occurring at the wafer are self-consistently described. The calculated etch rates are validated by experiments. The calculations and experiments are performed at two different wafer temperatures, i.e. 300 and 173K, resembling conventional etching and cryoetching, respectively. In the case of cryoetching, a physisorbed SF sub(x) layer (x = 0-6) is formed on the wafer, which is negligible at room temperature, because of fast thermal desorption, However, even in the case of cryoetching, this layer can easily be disintegrated by low-energy ions, so it does not affect the etch rates. In the investigated pressure range of 1-9 Pa, the etch rate is always slightly higher at cryogenic conditions, both in the experiments and in the model, and this could be explained in the model due to a local cooling of the gas above the wafer, making the gas denser and increasing the flux of reactive neutrals, like F and F sub(2), towards the wafer.