Etching

Basics of Etching technology Wet etching -----dielectrics, semiconductors, & metal -----Isotropic & anisotropic etching I t i i t i t hi Dry etching (RIE) Electrochemical polishing

Etching
Three steps in etching process? Two kinds of Etching?

Etching profiles

(2) Reaction (1) Diffusion (3) Diffusion

dry & wet etching Gas phase (chemical, and physical) Liquid phase (chemical)

Profiles: isotropic & anisotropic Applications: Si, Silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, metal Controls: doping, electrochemical, film quality, mask materials

Wet Etching of Metals

Aluminum - Aluminum Etchant Type A from Transene Co., Inc. is a mixture of phosphoric acid, acetic acid and nitric acid. Etch Rate is about 1 min for 2000 . For multilayer metal processes it is often necessary to etch through an insulating interlevel dielectric. When the underlying layer is aluminum and the insulating layer is glass the preferred etchant is 5 parts BOE and 3 parts Glycerin. (straight BOE etches aluminum) Copper - Ferric Chloride or mix Etchant from 533 ml water, add 80 ml Na2S2O3, Sodium Persulfate, (white powder, Oxidizer), prepare in glass pan, place pan on hot plate and heat to 50 C (plate Temp set at 100 C) Etch Rate ~ 1.66 m/min 1 66 Copper Coated Board about 30 min. Platinum 7ml HCl, 1ml HNO3, 8 ml H2O at 85 C approximate etch rate 450 /min. Chromium - CR-9 Etch, Cyantek Corp. Gold - Gold Etch. Etch

Wet Etching of Dielectrics

Profiles: isotropic & anisotropic Applications: Si, Silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, metal Controls: doping, electrochemical, film quality, mask materials

Wet Etching of Silicon Oxide

BY HF with or without the addition of ammonium flouride (NH4F).
The addition of ammonium flouride creates a buffered HF solution (BHF) also called buffered oxide etch (BOE). The addition of NH4F to HF controls the pH value and replenishes the depletion of the fl id ions, thus maintaining stable etch rate. h fluoride i h i i i bl h

Buffered HF Etching g
7:1 NH4F/HF gives about 1000 /min etch rate at room temperature

SiO2 + 6HF = H2SiF6 + 2H2O Types of silicon dioxide etchants: 49% HF - fast removal of oxide, poor photoresist adhesion BHF - medium removal of oxide, with photoresist mask Dilute HF - removal of native oxide, cleans, surface treatments f f HF/HCl or HF/Glycerin mixtures special applications

Etching tools - HF

SiO2 etching is performed on HF bench using Teflon tools

Teflon Chemical Process Wafer Cassette & container

Fluoroware A182-60MB or PerFluoroAlkoxy (Teflon) g High resistance to chemicals and temperature Can be used in wet chemistry processes (RCA clean, BOE etch, wet nitride etch, wet aluminum etch)

HF Bench

Silicon Nitride Etching with Hot H3PO4 Silicon Nitride Etching

BOE (7:1) 20A/min, 1:1 HF:HCL 120A/min, 49% HF 140 A/min 165C Phosphoric Acid 55A/min (BOE dip first to remove oxynitride layer), etches silicon dioxide at 10 /min and silicon ili
Hot phosphoric acid etch of nitride can not use photoresist as an etch p ( y ) mask. One can use a thin patterned oxide (or oxynitride) to act as the etch mask. Etch rate for silicon is even lower than the etch rate of oxide.

Etching tools Hot Phos

Warm up Hot Phosphoric Acid pot to 175C Use Teflon boat to place wafers in acid bath
3500 +/-500 50 minutes / 1500 +/- 500 25minutes Etch rate of ~80 /min

Wet Etching of Silicon g

Anisotropic etching Acid: HNA (Hydrofluoric acid + Nitric acid + Acetic acid)

Hot Phos Bench

Rinse for 5 min.

Base: KOHetch NaOH etch EDP (Ethylene Diamine Pyrocatechol) etch TMAH (Tetra Methyl Ammonium Hydroxide) etch TMAH

Water rinse

Orientation Primary flat orientation Secondary flat locations <111> p-type <100> p-type <111> n-type <100> n-type <110> no secondary flat 90 clockwise from primary flat 45 clockwise from primary flat 180 clockwise from primary flat

Anisotropic Wet etching Convex corners are undercut Concave corners stop at [111] intersection

(100) Si Etching rate

100

Etching selectivity
When SiO2 i used as a masking layer Wh is d ki l with a KOH solution both temperature and concentration should be chosen as low p as possible. KOH etch rate is about 50 to 55 m/min at 72 C and KOH concentrations between g 10 and 30 weight %. The Si/SiO2 etch ratio is 1000:1 for 10% KOH at 60 C, at 30% it drops to 200:1. The relative etch rate of doped silicon to lightly doped silicon decreases for doping concentrations above 1E19 and at 1E20 the relative etch rate is 1/100 for 10% concentration. (on (100) wafer the angle is 50.6) Si3N4 is the perfect masking material for KOH etch solution. The etch rate for Silicon Nitride appears to be zero.

KOH etching rate on B-doping

Doping

Revisit:

Si + 2 (OH)- = Si(OH)22+ + 4e-

(1)

In Boron doped Si, particularly the degenerated doped Si (p++ - Si), Fermi level close to valance band and many, many holes in Ev y, y Transfer to conduction band Ec recombination Ev

Si + 2

(OH)-

= Si(OH)2 +

2+

4e-

Si

[HO Si OH ]2+

4H2O +

4e- = 4(OH)-

+ 2H2

4H2O + 4e- = 4(OH)- + 2H2

(2)