Plasma Processing of Thin Chromium Films for Photomasks

Curtis, B. J.; Brunner, Herwig; Ebnoether, M.

doi:10.1149/1.2119560

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Chromium photomasks have been used in the semiconductor industry for many years, and great progress has been made in photomask processing (19). The optical properties of thin Cr/CrrO,, films sputtered on glass for photomask production were investigated using Auger spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and reflectometry techniques.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

p‐Type and n‐Type Behavior of Chromium Oxide as a Function of the Applied Potential

Metikoš‐Huković

Ceraj-Cerić

1987

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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Thermodynamic data as well as physical and electrochemical studies demonstrate that the composition of the passive layer on chromium depends on the potential and the electrolyte pH. The electrochemical properties of Cr203 electrodes were compared with the anodic behavior of chromium in borate buffer solutions. The feasibility of the solid-phase transformation of a surface layer under anodic polarization was investigated. The conductivity type and deviation from the stoichiometric composition of the chromium oxide was determined in situ using the photopolarization method. Depending

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

p‐Type and n‐Type Behavior of Chromium Oxide as a Function of the Applied Potential

Metikoš‐Huković

Ceraj-Cerić

1987

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…They analysed the etching process using plasma mixtures with Cl 2 and O 2 and attributed it to the formation of CrCl 2 O 2 volatile compounds (CrCl 2 O 2 is volatile at room temperature [43]). Curtis et al [44] studied the evolution of Cr etching by varying the percentage of O 2 in CCl 4 /O 2 mixtures and observed a maximum of chromium etch rate for 50 %O 2 . Staaks et al [45,46] performed etching of Cr by using Cl 2 /O 2 plasma, observing a maximum of etch rate for 20-40 %O 2 .…”

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Etching of iron and iron–chromium alloys using ICP-RIE chlorine plasma

Dain¹,

Laourine²,

Guilet³

et al. 2021

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The dry etching process of Fe, Cr and Fe-Cr alloys under a chlorine-based plasma is studied. The objective is to create new surface functionalities. The approach combines an experimental study of an ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) reactor with the development of a multi-scale etching model including kinetic, sheath and surface models. The results from plasma etching of substrates made of Fe, Cr and Fe-Cr alloys are presented. Optical emission spectroscopy and interferometry measurements show strong modifications of the plasma when Fe or Cr samples are present in the reactor. It is shown that Fe is easier to etch than Cr. The study highlights the role of chemical etching by the formation of volatile products such as FeCl 3 . The Cr content in Fe-Cr alloys has a strong impact on both the lateral and vertical etch rates, as well as on the roughness along the profile. For Fe-Cr alloys, the experimental and calculated values of etch rate are very similar. The concept of hard zones is introduced to get a better agreement between simulation results and experimental ones. This good agreement demonstrates the capability of the developed simulator to implement new phenomena.

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“…19,20 In the early 1990s, the intrinsic disadvantage of wet etch and potential application of dry etch were understood and more publications on plasma etch of photomasks appeared. 19,20 In the early 1990s, the intrinsic disadvantage of wet etch and potential application of dry etch were understood and more publications on plasma etch of photomasks appeared.…”

Section: Cr Plasma Etchingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photomask plasma etching: A review

Wu¹

2006

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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Investigation of etching properties of metal nitride/high-k gate stacks using inductively coupled plasma Photomask plasma etching was thoroughly reviewed over wide topics including history, equipment, etchant, absorbers, phase shifters, thermodynamics, and kinetics. Plasma etch obtained industrial applications for photomask fabrication in the 1990s and presently is a critical fabrication step for the "enabling" photomask industry. Among all types of photomasks ͑binary, embedded attenuated phase-shift mask, and alternating aperture phase-shift mask͒, chromium ͑Cr͒ containing material etching has been the basis and fundamental for all photomask etches. The main technological challenges for Cr etch occur on ͑isolated͒ dark features of a high load photomask due to the etch critical dimension ͑CD͒ bias dependence on the local loading. It determines the CD features on the Cr layer, phase shifter MoSi layer, and fused silica ͑quartz͒ layer. The CD deviation on pattern layers from the nominal value has been a challenge, especially for the Cr state-of-the-art 65 nm node photomasks even though data sizing exists. Inductively coupled plasma plus bias power using radio frequency wavelength is the dominant configuration of the photomask plasma etcher, with improved loading and CD mean-to-target potential. Thermodynamic applications ͑Gibbs energy minimization method͒ on photomask plasma etch provide a quick, easy, and low cost method to estimate the plasma etch feasibility and defect reduction at different plasma gas input conditions. Empirical relationships between operational parameters and etch properties significantly improve the only design of experiment procedure for etch process optimization.

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Plasma Processing of Thin Chromium Films for Photomasks

Cited by 9 publications

References 4 publications

p‐Type and n‐Type Behavior of Chromium Oxide as a Function of the Applied Potential

p‐Type and n‐Type Behavior of Chromium Oxide as a Function of the Applied Potential

Etching of iron and iron–chromium alloys using ICP-RIE chlorine plasma

Photomask plasma etching: A review

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