AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Tuesday Sessions
       Session PS2-TuP

Paper PS2-TuP1
Development of a Dry Etching Profile Simulator in a High-Density, Low-Pressure Plasma

Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 6:00 pm, Room 3rd Floor Lobby

Session: Etching and Process Integration Poster Session
Presenter: J. Saussac, Université de Montréal, Canada
Authors: J. Saussac, Université de Montréal, Canada
A. Quintal-Leonard, Université de Montréal, Canada
J. Margot, Université de Montréal, Canada
M. Chaker, INRS-Energie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Canada
Correspondent: Click to Email
The development of new sub-micron technologies requires a fundamental understanding of device fabrication processes in order to be able to push the technology to its limits. In this context, numerical simulations are of great interest for providing insights into the physics underlying various processes and therefore helpful for optimizing the experimental conditions. Our ultimate purpose is to develop a 2-dimensional plasma etching simulator devoted to the determination of the etch profile evolution of complex oxides in a high-density reactive plasma. Our approach consists in a two dimensional cellular discretization of the plasma, mask and material domains; each cell is initially set to the same size and includes the same number of atoms. Ion transport from the plasma to the surface is simulated by a Monte Carlo technique. Testing of the model is performed by comparing its predictions to existing experimental measurements of silicon sputter-etched patterns. As only pure physical etching is considered, the atomic population of each cell evolves according to the etch yield, the cell passing from an unetched to an etched state when the number of atoms by cell falls below a threshold. Once the model validated for silicon sputter-etching, it is planned in a second step to introduce in the model the chemical aspects required to investigate the etching of complex oxides like SrTiO@sub 3@ in a halogenated plasma.