ATOMIC LAYER ETCHING OF TUNGSTEN AND OTHER METALS
First Claim
1. A method of etching a metal on a substrate, the metal being selected from tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co), comprising:
- (a) exposing a surface of the metal to a halide chemistry to form a modified halide-containing surface layer; and
(b) applying a bias voltage to the substrate while exposing the modified halide-containing surface layer to a plasma to thereby remove the modified halide-containing surface layer.
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Abstract
Provided herein are methods of atomic layer etching (ALE) of metals including tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co). The methods disclosed herein provide precise etch control down to the atomic level, with etching a low as 1 Å to 10 Å per cycle in some embodiments. In some embodiments, directional control is provided without damage to the surface of interest. The methods may include cycles of a modification operation to form a reactive layer, followed by a removal operation to etch only this modified layer. The modification is performed without spontaneously etching the surface of the metal.
33 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of etching a metal on a substrate, the metal being selected from tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co), comprising:
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(a) exposing a surface of the metal to a halide chemistry to form a modified halide-containing surface layer; and (b) applying a bias voltage to the substrate while exposing the modified halide-containing surface layer to a plasma to thereby remove the modified halide-containing surface layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates, the apparatus comprising:
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a process chamber comprising a showerhead and a substrate support, a plasma generator, and a controller having at least one processor and a memory, wherein the at least one processor and the memory are communicatively connected with one another, the at least one processor is at least operatively connected with flow-control hardware, and the memory stores machine-readable instructions for; (i) introducing a halide-containing gas to modify a tungsten surface; and (ii) introducing an activation gas and igniting a plasma to etch at least part of the modified surface of tungsten. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification