The effects of gas flow rates on the etch characteristics of silicon nitride with an extreme ultra-violet resist pattern in CH2F 2/N2/Ar capacitively coupled plasmas

B. S. Kwon; J. H. Lee; N. E. Lee

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.115

The effects of gas flow rates on the etch characteristics of silicon nitride with an extreme ultra-violet resist pattern in CH₂F ₂/N₂/Ar capacitively coupled plasmas

B. S. Kwon
, J. H. Lee
, N. E. Lee

Department of Energy and Science and Engineering

Sungkyunkwan University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The effects of CH₂F₂ and N₂ gas flow rates on the etch selectivity of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) layers to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) resist and the variation of the line edge roughness (LER) of the EUV resist and Si₃N₄ pattern were investigated during etching of a Si₃N₄/EUV resist structure in dual-frequency superimposed CH₂F₂/N ₂/Ar capacitive coupled plasmas (DFS-CCP). The flow rates of CH ₂F₂ and N₂ gases played a critical role in determining the process window for ultra-high etch selectivity of Si ₃N₄/EUV resist due to disproportionate changes in the degree of polymerization on the Si₃N₄ and EUV resist surfaces. Increasing the CH₂F₂ flow rate resulted in a smaller steady state CH_xF_y thickness on the Si ₃N₄ and, in turn, enhanced the Si₃N₄ etch rate due to enhanced SiF₄ formation, while a CH _xF_y layer was deposited on the EUV resist surface protecting the resist under certain N₂ flow conditions. The LER values of the etched resist tended to increase at higher CH₂F ₂ flow rates compared to the lower CH₂F₂ flow rates that resulted from the increased degree of polymerization.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	6741-6745
Number of pages	5
Journal	Thin Solid Films
Volume	519
Issue number	20
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.115
State	Published - 1 Aug 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the “Development Program of Nano Process Equipment” of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) . This research was also partially supported by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) and Korea Industrial Technology Foundation (KOTEF) through the Human Resource Training Project for Strategic Technology.

Keywords

Dual-frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma (DFS-CCP)
EUV resist
Etch selectivity
Line edge roughness (LER)
Plasma etching
Silicon nitride (SiN)

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10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.115

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title = "The effects of gas flow rates on the etch characteristics of silicon nitride with an extreme ultra-violet resist pattern in CH2F 2/N2/Ar capacitively coupled plasmas",

abstract = "The effects of CH2F2 and N2 gas flow rates on the etch selectivity of silicon nitride (Si3N4) layers to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) resist and the variation of the line edge roughness (LER) of the EUV resist and Si3N4 pattern were investigated during etching of a Si3N4/EUV resist structure in dual-frequency superimposed CH2F2/N 2/Ar capacitive coupled plasmas (DFS-CCP). The flow rates of CH 2F2 and N2 gases played a critical role in determining the process window for ultra-high etch selectivity of Si 3N4/EUV resist due to disproportionate changes in the degree of polymerization on the Si3N4 and EUV resist surfaces. Increasing the CH2F2 flow rate resulted in a smaller steady state CHxFy thickness on the Si 3N4 and, in turn, enhanced the Si3N4 etch rate due to enhanced SiF4 formation, while a CH xFy layer was deposited on the EUV resist surface protecting the resist under certain N2 flow conditions. The LER values of the etched resist tended to increase at higher CH2F 2 flow rates compared to the lower CH2F2 flow rates that resulted from the increased degree of polymerization.",

keywords = "Dual-frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma (DFS-CCP), EUV resist, Etch selectivity, Line edge roughness (LER), Plasma etching, Silicon nitride (SiN)",

author = "Kwon, \{B. S.\} and Lee, \{J. H.\} and Lee, \{N. E.\}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the “Development Program of Nano Process Equipment” of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) . This research was also partially supported by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) and Korea Industrial Technology Foundation (KOTEF) through the Human Resource Training Project for Strategic Technology.",

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AU - Lee, J. H.

AU - Lee, N. E.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the “Development Program of Nano Process Equipment” of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) . This research was also partially supported by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) and Korea Industrial Technology Foundation (KOTEF) through the Human Resource Training Project for Strategic Technology.

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N2 - The effects of CH2F2 and N2 gas flow rates on the etch selectivity of silicon nitride (Si3N4) layers to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) resist and the variation of the line edge roughness (LER) of the EUV resist and Si3N4 pattern were investigated during etching of a Si3N4/EUV resist structure in dual-frequency superimposed CH2F2/N 2/Ar capacitive coupled plasmas (DFS-CCP). The flow rates of CH 2F2 and N2 gases played a critical role in determining the process window for ultra-high etch selectivity of Si 3N4/EUV resist due to disproportionate changes in the degree of polymerization on the Si3N4 and EUV resist surfaces. Increasing the CH2F2 flow rate resulted in a smaller steady state CHxFy thickness on the Si 3N4 and, in turn, enhanced the Si3N4 etch rate due to enhanced SiF4 formation, while a CH xFy layer was deposited on the EUV resist surface protecting the resist under certain N2 flow conditions. The LER values of the etched resist tended to increase at higher CH2F 2 flow rates compared to the lower CH2F2 flow rates that resulted from the increased degree of polymerization.

AB - The effects of CH2F2 and N2 gas flow rates on the etch selectivity of silicon nitride (Si3N4) layers to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) resist and the variation of the line edge roughness (LER) of the EUV resist and Si3N4 pattern were investigated during etching of a Si3N4/EUV resist structure in dual-frequency superimposed CH2F2/N 2/Ar capacitive coupled plasmas (DFS-CCP). The flow rates of CH 2F2 and N2 gases played a critical role in determining the process window for ultra-high etch selectivity of Si 3N4/EUV resist due to disproportionate changes in the degree of polymerization on the Si3N4 and EUV resist surfaces. Increasing the CH2F2 flow rate resulted in a smaller steady state CHxFy thickness on the Si 3N4 and, in turn, enhanced the Si3N4 etch rate due to enhanced SiF4 formation, while a CH xFy layer was deposited on the EUV resist surface protecting the resist under certain N2 flow conditions. The LER values of the etched resist tended to increase at higher CH2F 2 flow rates compared to the lower CH2F2 flow rates that resulted from the increased degree of polymerization.

KW - Dual-frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma (DFS-CCP)

KW - EUV resist

KW - Etch selectivity

KW - Line edge roughness (LER)

KW - Plasma etching

KW - Silicon nitride (SiN)

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