| AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Plasma Science and Technology Division | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session PS+SS+TF-WeA |
| Session: | Plasma Deposition |
| Presenter: | Shinya Iwashita, Tokyo Electron Limited, Japan |
| Authors: | S. Iwashita, Tokyo Electron Limited, Japan T. Moriya, Tokyo Electron Limited, Japan T. Kikuchi, Tokyo Electron Limited, Japan N. Noro, Tokyo Electron Limited, Japan T. Hasegawa, Tokyo Electron Limited, Japan A. Uedono, University of Tsukuba, Japan |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
A plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process for synthesizing titanium oxide (TiO2) thin films, which allows to modify the film properties by tuning the ion energies of capacitively coupled radio frequency (CCRF) discharges, was performed. TiO2 films were deposited via the oxidation of titanium tetrachloride using a typical CCRF discharge in argon/oxygen mixtures, and the energy distributions of ions hitting an electrode (wafer surface) during the deposition were adjusted by controlling the impedance of the electrode [1]. The wet etching rate of TiO2 films shows a clear correlation with the mean ion energy; a higher mean ion energy realizes a higher value of the wet etching rate. The film characteristics are varied due to the balance between the oxidation and ion bombardment during the PEALD process. In a high mean energy condition, fine pores are formed in films due to the bombardment of high energetic ions, which was confirmed by the physical analyses such as positron annihilation spectroscopy. One can conclude that the energy control of ions in CCRF discharges is interpreted as tuning the oxidation and ion bombardment, both of which determine the film characteristics.
[1] K. Denpoh et al Proc.38th Int. Symp. Dry Process, 183 (2016).