AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Thursday Sessions
       Session NS-ThP

Paper NS-ThP21
The Silicon Atomic Layer Etching by Two-step PEALD Consisting of Oxidation and (NH4)2SiF6 formation

Thursday, October 25, 2018, 6:00 pm, Room Hall B

Session: Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Poster Session
Presenter: Jung-Dae (J.-D.) Kwon, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Republic of Korea
Authors: E.-J. Song, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Republic of Korea
J.-H. Ahn, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Republic of Korea
Kwon, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Republic of Korea
S.-H. Kwon, Pusan National University, Republic of Korea
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The process of precise silicon etching on the atomic scale was investigated by examining the formation of an (NH4)2SiF6 thin film as an intermediate phase followed by the removal of this layer by sublimation. An amorphous (NH4)2SiF6 thin film was formed on a Si substrate via a two-step plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process consisting of an oxidation step involving an O2 plasma and a transformation step to deposit an (NH4)2SiF6 thin film using an NH3 / NF3 plasma, where the deposited thin film was removed by a sublimation process. Because the thickness of the (NH4)2SiF6 thin film could be linearly controlled by altering the number of PEALD cycles, the etching depth could be successfully controlled on the sub-nanometer scale.