DESIGNER ATOMIC LAYER ETCHING
First Claim
1. A method of etching a material on a substrate, the method comprising:
- identifying process conditions for an atomic layer etching process of the material using a modification gas and a removal gas; and
performing the atomic layer etching process on the material on the substrate by;
exposing the substrate to the modification gas to modify a surface of the material, the modification gas having a modification energy and a desorption energy with respect to the material to be etched, andexposing the modified surface to the removal gas and igniting a plasma to remove the modified surface,wherein the modification energy is less than the desorption energy, and the desorption energy is less than a surface binding energy of the material.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods for evaluating synergy of modification and removal operations for a wide variety of materials to determine process conditions for self-limiting etching by atomic layer etching are provided herein. Methods include determining the surface binding energy of the material, selecting a modification gas for the material where process conditions for modifying a surface of the material generate energy less than the modification energy and greater than the desorption energy, selecting a removal gas where process conditions for removing the modified surface generate energy greater than the desorption energy to remove the modified surface but less than the surface binding energy of the material to prevent sputtering, and calculating synergy to maximize the process window for atomic layer etching.
27 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of etching a material on a substrate, the method comprising:
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identifying process conditions for an atomic layer etching process of the material using a modification gas and a removal gas; and performing the atomic layer etching process on the material on the substrate by; exposing the substrate to the modification gas to modify a surface of the material, the modification gas having a modification energy and a desorption energy with respect to the material to be etched, and exposing the modified surface to the removal gas and igniting a plasma to remove the modified surface, wherein the modification energy is less than the desorption energy, and the desorption energy is less than a surface binding energy of the material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22)
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16. A method of etching tantalum on a substrate, the method comprising:
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providing the substrate comprising tantalum; cooling the substrate to a temperature less than about 0°
C.; andperforming atomic layer etching of the tantalum by; exposing the substrate to a modification gas to modify a surface of the tantalum, and exposing the modified surface to a removal gas and igniting a plasma to remove the modified surface of the tantalum. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for processing a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
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a process chamber comprising a showerhead and a substrate support for holding the substrate having a material, 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; causing identification of process conditions for an atomic layer etching process of the material using a modification gas and a removal gas; and causing performance of the atomic layer etching process on the material on the substrate by; causing introduction of a modification gas to modify a surface of the material, the modification gas having a modification energy and a desorption energy with respect to the material to be etched, and causing introduction of the removal gas and generation of a plasma to remove the modified surface, wherein the modification energy is less than the desorption energy, and the desorption energy is less than a surface binding energy of the material.
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21. An apparatus for processing a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
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a process chamber comprising a showerhead and a substrate support for holding the substrate, 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; causing the temperature of the substrate support having the substrate comprising tantalum to be set to a temperature less than about 0°
C.; andcausing performance of atomic layer etching of the tantalum by; causing introduction of a modification gas to modify a surface of the tantalum, and causing the introduction of a removal gas and generation of a plasma to remove the modified tantalum.
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Specification