Atomic layer etching 3D structures: Si and SiGe and Ge smoothness on horizontal and vertical surfaces
First Claim
1. A method of etching a substrate, the method comprising:
- (a) etching a substrate by removing layers of material using sequential self-limiting reactions by performing n cycles of;
(i) exposing the substrate to a reactive gas to modify a surface of the substrate without etching the surface of the substrate to form a modified surface, wherein the reactive gas comprises a sulfur-containing gas and wherein the surface of the substrate is modified by deposition, and(ii) after exposing the substrate to the reactive gas, exposing the modified surface of the substrate to a removal species to remove at least some of the modified surface; and
(b) periodically exposing the substrate to an oxygen-containing plasma to passivate the surface of the substrate; and
wherein n is an integer between and including 1 and 100.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for etching semiconductor material on substrates using atomic layer etching by chemisorption, by deposition, or by both chemisorption and deposition mechanisms in combination with oxide passivation are described herein. Methods involving atomic layer etching using a chemisorption mechanism involve exposing the semiconductor material to chlorine to chemisorb chlorine onto the substrate surface and exposing the modified surface to argon to remove the modified surface. Methods involving atomic layer etching using a deposition mechanism involve exposing the semiconductor material to a sulfur-containing gas and hydrogen to deposit and thereby modify the substrate surface and removing the modified surface.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of etching a substrate, the method comprising:
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(a) etching a substrate by removing layers of material using sequential self-limiting reactions by performing n cycles of; (i) exposing the substrate to a reactive gas to modify a surface of the substrate without etching the surface of the substrate to form a modified surface, wherein the reactive gas comprises a sulfur-containing gas and wherein the surface of the substrate is modified by deposition, and (ii) after exposing the substrate to the reactive gas, exposing the modified surface of the substrate to a removal species to remove at least some of the modified surface; and (b) periodically exposing the substrate to an oxygen-containing plasma to passivate the surface of the substrate; and wherein n is an integer between and including 1 and 100. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of etching a substrate, the method comprising:
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removing layers of material of a substrate by using sequential self-limiting reactions by; (a) exposing a substrate to a halogen-containing gas to modify a first surface of the substrate by chemisorption to form a first modified surface; (b) after exposing the substrate to the halogen-containing gas, exposing the substrate to a removal gas to remove at least some of the first modified surface; (c) exposing the substrate to a sulfur-containing gas to modify a second surface of the substrate by deposition to form a second modified surface; (d) after exposing the substrate to the sulfur-containing gas, exposing the substrate to the removal gas to remove at least some of the second modified surface; and (e) repeating (a)-(d) and periodically exposing the substrate to an oxygen-containing plasma to passivate surfaces of the substrate; and wherein the substrate comprises germanium. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification