AVS 46th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Division Wednesday Sessions
       Session PS-WeM

Paper PS-WeM7
Feature Profile Evolution of SiO@sub 2@ Trenches in Fluorocarbon Plasmas

Wednesday, October 27, 1999, 10:20 am, Room 609

Session: Feature Profile Evolution
Presenter: H.H. Hwang, Thermosciences Institute
Authors: H.H. Hwang, Thermosciences Institute
T.R. Govindan, NASA Ames Research Center
M. Meyyappan, NASA Ames Research Center
V. Arunachalam, Motorola
S. Rauf, Motorola
D.G. Coronell, Motorola
Correspondent: Click to Email
Etching of silicon microstructures for semiconductor manufacturing in chlorine plasmas has been well characterized. The etching proceeds in a two-part process, where the chlorine neutrals passivate the Si surface and then the ions etch away SiCl@sub x@. However, etching in more complicated gas mixtures and materials, such as etching of SiO@sub 2@ in Ar/C@sub 4@F@sub 8@, requires knowledge of the ion and neutral distribution functions as a function of angle and velocity, in addition to modeling the gas-surface reactions. In order to address these needs, we have developed and integrated a suite of models to simulate the etching process from the plasma reactor level to the feature profile evolution level. This arrangement allows for a better understanding, control, and prediction of the influence of equipment level process parameters on feature profile evolution. We are currently using the HPEM (Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model) and PCMCM (Plasma Chemistry Monte Carlo Model) to generate plasma properties and ion and neutral distribution functions for argon/fluorocarbon discharges in a GEC Reference Cell. These quantities are then input to the feature scale model, Simulation of Profile Evolution by Level Sets (SPELS). A surface chemistry model is used to determine the interaction of the incoming species with the substrate material and simulate the evolution of the trench profile. The impact of change of gas pressure and inductive power on the relative flux of CF@sub x@ and F to the wafer, the etch and polymerization rates, and feature profiles will be examined. Comparisons to experimental profiles will also be presented.