Method for manufacturing semiconductor device

• US 6,953,753 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2003
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kano, Kazuhiko, Muto, Hiroshi, Oohara, Junji
• Primary Examiner(s): Norton, Nadine G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, ERIC BRICE
• Application Number:
  US10/373,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20030176071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 438/50, 438/52, 438/706, 438/710, 438/719, 438/739, 216/63, 216/66, 216/67, 735/143.2
• US Class Current: 438/719
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2201/0235 Accelerometers
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2203/033 Trenches
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/0019 Flexible or deformable structures not provided for in groups B81C1/00142 - B81C1/00182
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00579 Avoid charge built-up
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2201/0132 Dry etching, i.e. plasma etching, barrel etching, reactive ion etching [RIE], sputter etching or ion milling
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/0802 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0814 for translational movement of the mass, e.g. shuttle type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/169 Sections connected flexibly with external fastener

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having a movable unit includes a step of forming an SOI substrate that includes a semiconductor substrate, an insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer such that the insulating layer is located between the semiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate. The method further includes a step of dry etching the semiconductor layer to form a trench with a charge prevented from building up on a surface of the insulating layer that is exposed at a bottom of the trench during the dry etching. The method further includes a step of dry etching a sidewall defining the trench at a portion adjacent to the bottom of the trench to form the movable unit. The later dry etching is performed with a charge building up on the surface of the insulating layer such that etching ions strike to etch the portion of the sidewall.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, in which an active layer is located on a supporting substrate with an insulating intermediate layer therebetween and a movable unit included in the active layer moves in relation to the supporting substrate in response to a force applied to the movable unit, wherein the force is correlated to a dynamic quantity to be measured by the device, the method comprising steps of:

forming an SOI substrate that includes a semiconductor substrate, an insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer such that the insulating layer is located between the semiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate;

dry etching the semiconductor layer to form a trench that extends through the semiconductor layer to the insulating layer, wherein the dry etching is performed with a charge prevented from building up on a surface of the insulating layer that is exposed during the dry etching in order to prevent notching;

dry etching a sidewall defining the trench at a portion adjacent to a bottom of the trench to form a movable unit, wherein the later dry etching is performed with a charge building up on the surface of the insulating layer such that etching ions is strike to etch the portion of the sidewall.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein two trenches, one of which is wider than the other, are formed in the former dry etching.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the former dry etching is performed using a bias frequency below 5 MHz to prevent the change from building up on the surface of the insulating layer.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the bias frequency is at or below 600 kHz.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the later dry etching is performed using a bias frequency at or above 5 MHz to build th charge up on the surface of the insulating layer.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the bias frequency is at or above 10 MHz.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the former dry etching is performed using a pulsed frequency bias generated by a low frequency RF power supply.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the later dry etching is performed using a continuous frequency bias generated by a high frequency RF power supply.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein the movable unit includes a weight, a comb-shaped movable electrode, and a spring, wherein one of sidewalls that define the wider one of the two trenches is a sidewall of the spring, and wherein the notching is prevented on the sidewall of the spring.

10. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, in which an active layer is located on a supporting substrate with an insulating intermediate layer therebetween and a movable unit included in the active layer moves in relation to the supporting substrate in response to a force applied to the movable unit, wherein the movable unit includes a weight, a comb-shaped movable electrode, and a spring, wherein the force is correlated to a dynamic quantity to be measured by the device, the method comprising:

forming an SOI substrate that includes a semiconductor substrate, an insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer such that the insulating layer is located between the semiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate;

dry etching the semiconductor layer to form trenches that extend through the semiconductor layer to the insulating layer, wherein a charge is substantially prevented from building up on a surface of the insulating layer that is exposed during the dry etching in order to prevent notching; and

dry etching sidewalls at a portion adjacent to a bottom of each of the trenches to form a movable unit, wherein a charge builds up on the surface of the insulating layer such that etching ions strike to etch the portion of the sidewalls during the dry etching of the sidewalls,

wherein the trenches include two trenches, one of which has a narrower width than the other trench for defining springs of the movable unit, wherein the dry etching of the semiconductor layer is performed until the trench having a narrower width extends to the insulating layer.