Sputtering of silicon dioxide near threshold

Todorov, S. S.; Fossum, E. R.

doi:10.1063/1.99466

Cited by 33 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…10). Similarly, the physical sputter yield data of SiO 2 for Ar + ion bombardment 95,122,124,128,[133][134][135][136][137] show significant scatter (see Fig. 11).…”

Section: Issues and Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic Layer Etching at the Tipping Point: An Overview

Oehrlein

Metzler

2015

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

226

162

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The ability to achieve near-atomic precision in etching different materials when transferring lithographically defined templates is a requirement of increasing importance for nanoscale structure fabrication in the semiconductor and related industries. The use of ultra-thin gate dielectrics, ultra thin channels, and sub-20 nm film thicknesses in field effect transistors and other devices requires near-atomic scale etching control and selectivity. There is an emerging consensus that as critical dimensions approach the sub-10 nm scale, the need for an etching method corresponding to Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), i.e. Atomic Layer Etching (ALE), has become essential, and that the more than 30-year quest to complement/replace continuous directional plasma etching (PE) methods for critical applications by a sequence of individual, self-limited surface reaction steps has reached a crucial stage. A key advantage of this approach relative to continuous PE is that it enables optimization of the individual steps with regard to reactant adsorption, self-limited etching, selectivity relative to other materials, and damage of critical surface layers. In this overview we present basic approaches to ALE of materials, discuss similarities/crucial differences relative to thermal and plasma-enhanced ALD, and then review selected results on ALE of materials aimed at pattern transfer. The overview concludes with a discussion of opportunities and challenges ahead. A requirement of increasing importance for nanoscale device fabrication is the ability to achieve atomic scale etching control and materials selectivity during pattern transfer.1-8 An etching method corresponding to Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), i.e. Atomic Layer Etching (ALE), is expected to satisfy these needs as critical dimensions continue to shrink below the 10 nm scale.Demonstrations of self-limited dry etching methods capable of near-atomic resolution have a long history in the dry etching community and a brief review will be presented below. Key challenges for these approaches have been specialized equipment, long process times and low throughput.9,10 However, a recent demonstration using a commercial plasma etch tool 10 and activities within the dry etching community 11 provide indications that the situation has changed, and that we may have reached for ALE the Tipping Point which Gladwell defined as the "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point" when "ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do".12 This is due to several factors, including unprecedented demands on dry etching technology introduced by the semiconductor device evolution according to Moore's law that can be satisfied by atomic layer etching, advanced capabilities in plasma etch, and the existence of a critical level of information on plasma etch and ALD methods as applied in the semiconductor fabrication space.In this article we will provide a review of background of these approaches, and focus on issues that have to be overcome for widespread implement...

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“…10). Similarly, the physical sputter yield data of SiO 2 for Ar + ion bombardment 95,122,124,128,[133][134][135][136][137] show significant scatter (see Fig. 11).…”

Section: Issues and Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic Layer Etching at the Tipping Point: An Overview

Oehrlein

Metzler

2015

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

226

162

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“…This result is in good agreement with sputter results for silicon oxide where sputter yields of 5E-2 at/ion at 40 eV and 4E-1 at/ion at 60 eV have been reported. 12 Based on these results, silicon ALE can be achieved with high selectivites to thick oxide for ion energies up to 60 eV.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sputter yields reported for very low Ar ion energies are in good agreement with the assumption that oxygen is preferentially ejected and that silicon limits the sputtering process. 12 Conceivably, the ALE process removes some of the silicon rich surface layer which forms during Ar ion bombardment and eventually the gate oxide layer will be thinned to a critical thickness. Petit-Etienne et al reported that for chlorine plasma with 100 eV ion energy, Cl penetrates through 2.5 nm thick SiO 2 and accumulates as SiCl x at the interface causing silicon recess and accelerated gate oxide breakthrough.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Highly Selective Directional Atomic Layer Etching of Silicon

Tan

Yang

Kanarik

et al. 2015

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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Following Moore's Law, feature dimensions will soon reach dimensions on an atomic scale. For the most advanced structures, conventional plasma etch processes are unable to meet the requirement of atomic scale fidelity. The breakthrough that is needed can be found in atomic layer etching or ALE, where greater control can be achieved by separating out the reaction steps. In this paper, we study selective, directional ALE of silicon using plasma assisted chlorine adsorption, specifically selectivities to bulk silicon oxide as well as thin gate oxide. Possible selectivity mechanisms will be discussed.

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“…Physical sputter yields of SiO 2 using Ar ions reported in this work and in the literature. 30,31,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] The ion flux-energy distribution functions (IFEDFs) were generated by applying low-frequency tailored waveform biasing to substrates exposed to an Ar plasma at 200 W remote plasma source power and 3 mTorr pressure. The inset shows the physical sputter etch rate of SiO 2 as a function of the ion energy.…”

Section: Journal Of Applied Physicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precise ion energy control with tailored waveform biasing for atomic scale processing

Faraz

Verstappen

Verheijen

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Physics

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Sputtering of silicon dioxide near threshold

Cited by 33 publications

References 14 publications

Atomic Layer Etching at the Tipping Point: An Overview

Atomic Layer Etching at the Tipping Point: An Overview

Highly Selective Directional Atomic Layer Etching of Silicon

Precise ion energy control with tailored waveform biasing for atomic scale processing

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