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Footing removal for nitride spacer

  • US 10,629,473 B2
  • Filed: 09/09/2016
  • Issued: 04/21/2020
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2016
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An etching method comprising:

  • forming an inert plasma within a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber;

    modifying a surface of an exposed material on a semiconductor substrate within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber with effluents of the inert plasma, wherein the exposed material comprises silicon oxide, wherein modifying the surface of the exposed material comprises damaging the surface of the exposed material with the effluents of the inert plasma, wherein damaging the surface of the exposed material comprises breaking bonds between silicon and oxygen atoms with the effluents of the inert plasma, and wherein the effluents of the inert plasma break the bonds between the silicon and oxygen atoms without chemically bonding to the silicon or oxygen atoms;

    forming a remote plasma from a fluorine-containing precursor to produce plasma effluents;

    flowing the plasma effluents to the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber; and

    removing the modified surface of the exposed material from the semiconductor substrate, wherein during the etching method essentially no solid byproducts of the exposed material are produced.

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