Tokyo electron limited (20240249927). Plasma Etching with Metal Sputtering simplified abstract
Contents
Plasma Etching with Metal Sputtering
Organization Name
Inventor(s)
Minjoon Park of Albany NY (US)
Plasma Etching with Metal Sputtering - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240249927 titled 'Plasma Etching with Metal Sputtering
The patent application describes a method of etching a substrate in a plasma etch chamber.
- Loading the substrate into the plasma etch chamber, which includes a patterned hard mask layer and an underlying layer.
- Flowing a process gas with fluorine and carbon into the chamber.
- Applying a source power to generate a plasma in the chamber.
- Etching the underlying layer by sputtering refractory metal from the chamber part's surface.
- Forming a recess in the underlying layer and a conductive polymer layer with the refractory metal over sidewalls of the patterned hard mask layer.
Potential Applications: - Semiconductor manufacturing - Microelectronics fabrication - Nanotechnology research
Problems Solved: - Precise etching of substrates with complex layers - Uniform removal of material without damaging the underlying layers
Benefits: - Enhanced precision in etching processes - Improved control over material removal - Increased efficiency in semiconductor manufacturing
Commercial Applications: - Advanced semiconductor fabrication processes - High-tech electronics manufacturing - Research and development in nanotechnology
Questions about the technology: 1. How does the presence of a refractory metal in the conductive polymer layer impact the etching process? 2. What are the advantages of using fluorine and carbon in the process gas for etching substrates in a plasma etch chamber?
Original Abstract Submitted
a method of etching a substrate that includes: loading the substrate into a plasma etch chamber, the substrate including a patterned hard mask layer and an underlying layer, the plasma etch chamber including a chamber part having a surface including a refractory metal, and a first electrode; flowing a process gas including fluorine and carbon into the plasma etch chamber; applying a source power to the first electrode of the plasma etch chamber to generate a plasma in the plasma etch chamber; and etching the underlying layer, the etching including exposing the surface of the chamber part to the plasma to sputter the refractory metal from the surface of the chamber part, and forming a recess in the underlying layer and a conductive polymer layer including the refractory metal over sidewalls of the patterned hard mask layer and the underlying layer, the forming including exposing the substrate to the plasma.
