Abstract
In this study, Au thin films were etched with a $Cl_2/Ar$ gas combination in an in an inductively coupled plasma. The etch properties were measured for different gas mixing ratios of $Cl_2/(Cl_2+Ar)$ while the other process conditions were fixed at rf power (700 W), dc bias voltage (150 V), and chamber pressure (15 mTorr). The highest etch rate of the Au thin film was 3500 $\AA/min$ and the selectivity of Au to $SiO_2$ was 4.38 at a $Cl_2/(Cl_2+Ar)$ gas mixing ratio of 0.2. The surface reaction of the etched Au thin films was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. There is Au-Cl bonding by chemical reaction between Cl and Au. During the etching of Au thin films in $Cl_2/Ar$ plasma, Au-Cl bond is formed, and these products can be removed by the physical bombardment of Ar ions. In addition, Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) were investigated to analyze radical density of Cl and Ar in plasma. The profile of etched Au investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
