E.

Paul Braineard
Etching
SRM University

Etching
Removal of layers

Etching
Wet
Material is removed by dissolving when
immersed in a chemical solution

Dry
Material is removed by sputtering/dissolving
using reactive ions or a vapor phase etchant
Sputtering removal of atoms from the substrate by
bombarding with energetic particles
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Etching

Etching process
Transport of reactants from bulk solution to
surface
Surface reaction
Transport of reaction products from surface to
bulk solution

Wet Etching
Isotropic etching
Etch rate is same in all directions
Lateral etch rate is about the same as vertical etch
rate
Etch rate does not depend upon the orientation of
the mask edge

Wet Etching
Anisotropic etching
Etch rate depends upon orientation to crystalline planes
Lateral etch rate can be much larger or smaller than
vertical etch rate, depending upon orientation of mask
edge to crystalline axes
Orientation of mask edge and the details of the mask
pattern determine the final etched shape Mask

Isotropic vs. Anisotropic

Lateral etch ratio

Under cut and over etch

Etch Parameters
Etch Rate:
rate of material removal (m/min)
function of concentration (etchant), agitation,
temperature, density and porosity of the thin film or
substrate,

Etch Selectivity:
relative (ratio) of the etch rate of the thin film to the
mask, substrate, or another film

Etch Geometry:
sidewall slope (degree of anisotropy)
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Etching chemistry
The etching process involves
Transport of the reactants to the surface
Surface reaction
Transport of by-products away from the surface

Key ingredients in a typical wet etchant

Oxidizer
H2O2, HNO3

Acid or base to dissolve the oxidized surface

H2SO4, NH4OH,

Dilute media to transport reactants and products

H2O, CH3COOH
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Redox Reactions
Etching is inherently an electrochemical process
It involves electron transfer processes for the surface
reactions

Redox reactions involve

oxidation of one or more species and
simultaneous reduction of others

Oxidation is the process of electron loss, or increase in

the oxidation number
The oxidation number is the net positive charge on a
species
Reduction is the process of electron gain, or decrease
in the oxidation number
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Wet Etchants for Si

Isotropic: HNA
Anisotropic: KOH, EDP, TMAH
Etching stop: silicon doped with boron
EDP: ethylene diamine and pyrocatechol
TMAH: Tetramethylammonium hydroxide

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Etching considerations
Concentration
Agitation/mixing/stirring the contents
Temperature

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Wet Etching of Si
Isotropic: HNA
Anisotropic: KOH

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HNA Etching of Silicon (Isotropic)

Isotropic etching
Hydrofluoric acid + Nitric acid + Acetic acid
Overall reaction
Si + HNO3 + 6HF H2SiF6+HNO2+H2O+H2
HNO3 oxidizes silicon, HF dissolves oxidized Si, and H2O/
CH3COOH serves as diluent

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HNA Etching of Silicon (Isotropic)

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Anisotropic etching of Silicon

Based on bases
KOH
NH4OH
TMAH (Tetramethylammonium hydroxide)

Etch mechanism

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KOH Etching of Silicon (Anisotropic)

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KOH Etching of Silicon (Anisotropic)

Etch rate : {100} > {110} >> {111}

Used at the elevated temperature (~80oC)
Resist will not survive, oxide is attacked slowly
Nitride is not attacked (best masking material)

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KOH Etching of Silicon (Anisotropic)

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KOH etching
Etch rate comparison
Concentration
Temperature

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KOH etching of Si vs SiO2

Etch rate comparison of
Si and oxide at different
temperatures and for
25 % KOH
concentration.

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Pattern transfer: Etch vs. Lift-off

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Dry etching
Plasma
Heating a gas may ionize
partially ionized gas
Contains equal number of positive and negative
charges and some

Glow discharge
Globally neutral, but contains regions of negative
and positive charges
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Dry etching
Chemically reactive vapors, reactive species in
glow-discharge plasma are highly effective
etchants
Classification
Vapor etching
Plasma assisted etching
Plasma etching
Reactive ion etching
Physical sputtering

DRIE

Vapor etching
A non-plasma, isotropic dry etch process for
silicon is possible using Xenon difluoride
(XeF2)
XeF2 gas is a highly selective vapor etchant for
silicon, with virtually no attack of metals like
aluminum, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and
photoresist
Ideal for dry release of SMM structures where
polysilicon is being used as sacrificial layer

Plasma-Assisted etching
Argon is held between anode and cathode (requires DC
diode setup)
Produces plasma used for etching silicon
A low-pressure glow-discharge plasma produces
ionized species
These ions when directed towards the surface of wafer
Sputtering effects
Removal of material by direct ion-bombardment

Chemical reaction effects

Converting surface atoms to volatile species that can be removed
by the vacuum pump

Reactive ion etching (RIE)

Is accomplished with RF generated plasma
An RF voltage is applied between the
electrodes, causing free electrons to oscillate
and collide with gas molecules, thus plasma is
produced
RF plasma consists of positive cations,
negative anions, radicals and photons
Wafer is placed on the cathode

Physical sputtering
Bombarding the surface with inert ions (e.g.,
Argon)
For energies
< 3 eV particles are reflected or absorbed
4-10 eV, some surface sputtering occurs
10-5000 eV, momentum transfer causes bond
breakage and material ejection
10,000-20,000 eV, implantation occurs

Ion beam milling

Hot filament serves as an electron source in
an inert gas environment such as argon.
Method
Ions are extracted from the upper chamber
Form a beam
Accelerate towards the lower chamber
Fired to hit the target

Etch gases for Plasma-Assisted etching

Material to be etched

Etch gas

Silicon/polysilicon

CF4, SF6

Silicon dioxide

CF4/H2

Silicon nitride

CF4/O2

Aluminum

BCl3

CF4 Tetrafluoromethane
SF6 Sulfur hexafluoride

High-aspect-ratio dry etching methods

Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE)

Cryogenic dry etching
Magnetically controlled dry etching
Thermally assisted ion-beam etching

Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE)

Concept
Alternating between deposition of polymer
material from plasma and etching of the material
from the surface.

Mask
Photoresist (PR)
Combination of PR and silicon dioxide for deep
etching

Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE)

Etching proceeds in alternating cycles of
Reactive-ion etching in an SF6 plasma
Polymer deposition from C4F8 plasma

During etch process polymer

is removed from the bottom of the feature
But, lingers (Sticks) to the sidewalls, protecting
from the SF6 etchant
Etch (SF6) Passivate (C4F8) Etch (SF6)

Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE)

(a) Opening of etch mask layer for Bosch DRIE

(b) Isotropic SF6 etch of silicon substrate with
anisotropic bombardment
(c) Isotropic polymer formation with C4F8
(d) SF6 etch and polymer deposition is repeated for
deep trenches.

DRIE
High aspect ratio structures

Vertical trenches
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Thank You

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Plasma etching
Argon is held between anode and cathode
(requires DC diode setup)
Produces plasma used for etching silicon
When plasma bombards the surface, the
impinging ions erode the surface by moment
transfer

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