Abstract
Effects of process parameters on the etch rate and generation of etch by-product molecules during Si 3N 4 layer etching in SF 6/O 2 and C 3F 6O/O 2 plasmas were investigated in a dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma etcher in order to evaluate the etch characteristics and global warming effects of emitted gases. The effects of the working pressure and gas flow ratio on the Si 3N 4 etch rate were initially examined for each gas mixture. The Si 3N 4 etch rates was compared for the SF 6/O 2 and C 3F 6O/O 2 etch gas mixtures under the same process conditions. The by-product gases generated during etching were analyzed and their concentrations were quantized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The global warming effects caused by the by-product gases emitted using the SF 6 and C 3F 6O gas mixtures were evaluated by comparing the million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE) values obtained from the emitted amounts of the by-product gases during the etching of a 1 μm-thick Si 3N 4 layer. The results showed that the C 3F 6O/O 2 chemistry was superior to the SF 6/O 2 chemistry in lowering the global warming effects. C 3F 6O gas could be used as an alternative to replace SF 6 gas for future etching processes of flat panel display materials.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2970-2974 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Microelectronics Reliability |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2012 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported partially by the Technology Innovation Program (The Alternative Technology of Fluoride Gases, 2010T100100265) through the WONIK-IPS funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) of Korea and by Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) through Workforce Development Program in Strategic Technology.