Method for atomic layer etching
First Claim
1. A method of etching a substrate, comprising:
- disposing the substrate in a plasma processing system configured to facilitate an etching process;
performing an atomic layer etching process cycle to etch a monolayer of an exposed surface of the substrate, the process cycle sequentially comprising;
forming an adsorption monolayer comprising an etchant on the exposed surface of the substrate by introducing the etchant while concurrently coupling electromagnetic power to the plasma processing system at an applied power level targeted to achieve an etchant radical flux at the exposed surface greater than a total ion flux at the exposed surface,purging the plasma processing system to remove any excess etchant,desorbing the adsorption monolayer comprising the etchant by exposing the adsorption monolayer to gas ions to activate a reaction of the etchant, andpurging the plasma processing system to remove the desorbed adsorption monolayer; and
repeating the atomic layer etching process cycle until a target etch depth is reached wherein each process cycle etches the monolayer from the exposed surface,wherein the applied power level is less than or equal to 50 W.
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Abstract
A method of etching a layer on a substrate includes disposing a substrate in a plasma processing system configured to facilitate an etching process, performing an atomic layer etching process cycle to etch a monolayer of an exposed surface of the substrate, and repeating the atomic layer etching process cycle until a target depth is reached. Each process cycle etches the monolayer from the exposed surface. The atomic layer etching process cycle sequentially includes forming an adsorption monolayer comprising an etchant on an exposed surface of the substrate by introducing the etchant while concurrently coupling electromagnetic power to the plasma processing system at a power level targeted to achieve an etchant radical flux at the substrate greater than a total ion flux at the substrate, which power level is less than or equal to 50 W, purging the plasma processing system to remove any excess etchant, desorbing the adsorption monolayer by exposing the adsorption monolayer to gas ions to activate a reaction of the etchant, and purging the plasma processing system again.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of etching a substrate, comprising:
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disposing the substrate in a plasma processing system configured to facilitate an etching process; performing an atomic layer etching process cycle to etch a monolayer of an exposed surface of the substrate, the process cycle sequentially comprising; forming an adsorption monolayer comprising an etchant on the exposed surface of the substrate by introducing the etchant while concurrently coupling electromagnetic power to the plasma processing system at an applied power level targeted to achieve an etchant radical flux at the exposed surface greater than a total ion flux at the exposed surface, purging the plasma processing system to remove any excess etchant, desorbing the adsorption monolayer comprising the etchant by exposing the adsorption monolayer to gas ions to activate a reaction of the etchant, and purging the plasma processing system to remove the desorbed adsorption monolayer; and repeating the atomic layer etching process cycle until a target etch depth is reached wherein each process cycle etches the monolayer from the exposed surface, wherein the applied power level is less than or equal to 50 W. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of etching a substrate, comprising:
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disposing the substrate in a plasma processing system configured to facilitate an etching process; etching an exposed surface of the substrate one monolayer of substrate material per process cycle, wherein each process cycle comprises alternatingly performing an adsorption step and a desorption step, wherein the adsorption step includes adsorbing an etchant on the exposed surface of the substrate while coupling electromagnetic power to the plasma processing system at an applied power level less than or equal to 50 W to achieve an etchant radical flux at the exposed surface greater than a total ion flux at the exposed surface, and wherein the desorption step includes activating a reaction between the adsorbed etchant and the monolayer of substrate material to desorb a reaction product. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification