Dry Etching Si/SiO2 in F-Based Gases and Plasmas

major
  • Prominent etch chemistry in ICs & MEMS
  • CF4 does not etch Si (does not chemisorb) but F2 gas will etch Si with etch products SiF2 and SiF4
  • Plasma is needed to generate F that must penetrate SiF2-like surface

http://www2.ece.jhu.edu/faculty/andreou/495/2003/LectureNotes/DryEtching.pdf
D. Zhang and M. J. Kushner, "Investigation of Surface Reactions During C2F6 Plasma Etching of SiO2 with Equipment and Feature Scale Models", J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 19, 524 (2001).

Etching of SiO2 and Si in fluorocarbon plasmas: A detailed surface model accounting for etching and deposition Evangelos Gogolides et al.JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS VOLUME 88 (2000), NUMBER 10, 5570