The etching of silicon with XeF2 vapor

Winters, Harold F.; Coburn, J. W.

doi:10.1063/1.90562

Cited by 293 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…12 Therefore a detailed modelling of the reaction is not feasible. Instead we will try to indicate the rate-limiting steps for the steady state etching process 27,28 and describe the reaction layer formation within the framework of the chain model. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At low temperatures there is no desorption of SiF 2 , the fluorine content of the reaction layer is constant and the etch rate, i.e., SiF 4 production, is limited by the XeF 2 -precursor concentration. 27,28 At high temperatures the change in the desorption rate of the XeF 2 -precursor can be neglected and the etch rate is limited by the desorption of SiF 2 . This results in the following equations:…”

Section: A Reaction Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Si/XeF2 etching: Temperature dependence

Vugts

Verschueren

Eurlings

et al. 1996

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

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The temperature dependence of the Si͑100͒/XeF 2 etch reaction is studied quantitatively in a molecular beam setup. At a sample temperature of 150 K the reaction probability reaches unity initially, after which the XeF 2 condenses on the surface and blocks the etching process. For increasing temperatures the XeF 2 reaction probability initially decreases from 100% at 150 K down to 20% around 400 K, but for temperatures above 600 K it increases again up to 45% at 900 K. In a simple reaction scheme the high etch rate at low temperatures is explained by a XeF 2 -precursor, with an activation energy for desorption of 32Ϯ4 meV. Furthermore the increased etch rate at high temperatures is explained by the desorption of SiF 2 with an activation energy of 260Ϯ30 meV. The steady-state fluorine content of the SiF x reaction layer, measured using thermal desorption spectroscopy, reaches a maximum of 5.5 monolayers at 300 K. For increasing temperatures it decreases to a submonolayer coverage above 700 K. The temperature dependence of the formation of the reaction layer is described well by including the XeF 2 -precursor in a previously developed adsorption model.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Reaction Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Si/XeF2 etching: Temperature dependence

Vugts

Verschueren

Eurlings

et al. 1996

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

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show abstract

“…Because of its high etch rate and high selectivity against many metals, dielectrics, and polymers used in traditional integrated circuit fabrications, XeF 2 has been a widely used to etch Silicon isotropically etchant in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) 1 processing since 1995 2 . XeF 2 is also used as a fluorination reagent in organic chemistry, due to its mild reactivity and high selectivity 3,4 While XeF 2 is a good etchant of silicon 5 , Al and Al 2 O 3 are among the materials which are not etched by XeF 2 and therefore are commonly used as structural materials.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of reaction with XeF2 on surface adhesion of Al and Al2O3 surfaces

Zhang

Park

Huang

et al. 2008

Applied Physics Letters

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“…From the linear dependence of the etch rate on the XeF 2 flow over a wide range, 22 it is concluded that the physisorbed XeF 2 concentration is very low at room temperature.…”

Section: Mechanisms Of Sif 4 Enhancement: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaction layer dynamics in ion-assisted Si/XeF2 etching: Ion flux dependence

Sebel

Hermans

Beijerinck

1999

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

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The etch rate of Si by XeF2 can be enhanced by more than a factor of 8 by ion bombardment. This enhancement is studied in a multiple-beam setup by looking at the response of reaction product signals upon ion pulses on time scales of 1–100 s in a multiple-beam setup. On a time scale of 100 s, it is found that ion bombardment causes fluorine depletion of the reaction layer and changes the structure of the reaction layer. This lower fluorine content results in a lower contribution of the spontaneous SiF4 production during ion bombardment. For the enhanced SiF4 production two processes are found from pulse measurements on the time scale of 1–10 s. First, ion bombardment creates weakly bound surface species, e.g., SiF2, that can react in the reaction layer to SiF4. Second, XeF2 reacts with these species with a higher reaction probability, thus enhancing the SiF4 production. The relative importance of both mechanisms is determined. Further, the limiting steps during spontaneous and ion-assisted etching are discussed, revealing that the creation of dangling bonds is the reason for the higher sticking probability of XeF2 during ion-assisted etching.

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The etching of silicon with XeF2 vapor

Cited by 293 publications

References 9 publications

Si/XeF2 etching: Temperature dependence

Si/XeF2 etching: Temperature dependence

Influence of reaction with XeF2 on surface adhesion of Al and Al2O3 surfaces

Reaction layer dynamics in ion-assisted Si/XeF2 etching: Ion flux dependence

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