• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1997.11a
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• pp.279-281
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• 1997

The properties of Platinum dry etching were investigated in MICP(Magnetized Inductively Coupled Plasma). The problem with Platinum etching is the redeposition of sputtered Platinum on the sidewall. Because of the redeposits on the sidewall, the etching of patterned Platinum structure produce feature sizes that exceed the original dimension of the PR size and the etch profile has needle-like shape.[1] Generally, $Cl_2$ plasma is used for the fence-free etching.[1][2][3] The main object of this study was to investigate a new process technology for the fence-free Pt etching. Platinum was etched with Ar plasma at the cryogenic temperature and with Ar/$SF_6$ plasma at room temperature. In cryogenic etching, the height of fence was reduced to 20% at $-190^{\circ}C$ compared with that of room temp., but the etch profile was not fence-free. In Ar/$SF_6$ Plasma, chemical reaction took part in etching process. The trend of properties of Ar/$SF_6$ Plasma etching is similar to that of $Cl_2$ Plasma etching. Fence-free etching was possible, but PR selectivity was very low. A new gas chemistry for fence-free Platinum etching was proposed in this study.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.8 no.4A
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• pp.476-481
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• 1999

Characteristics of platinum dry etching were investigated in a cryogenic magnetized inductively coupled plasma (MICP). The problem with platinum etching is the redeposition of sputtered platinum on the sidewall. Because of the redeposits on the sidewall, the etching of patterned platinum structure produces feature sizes that exceed the original dimension of the PR size and the etch profile has needle-like shape [1]. The main object of this study was to investigate a new process technology for fence-free Pt etching As bias voltage increased, the height of fence was reduced. In cryogenic etching, the height of fence was reduced to 20% at-$190^{\circ}C$ compared with that of room temperature, however the etch profile was not still fence-free. In Ar/$SF_6$ Plasma, fence-free Pt etching was possible. As the ratio of $SF_6$ gas flow is more than 14% of total gas flow, the etch profile had no fence. Chemical reaction seemed to take place in the etch process.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.59-64
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• 2014

Transfer is the critical issue of producing high-quality and scalable graphene electronic devices. However, conventional transfer processes require the removal of an underlying metal layer by wet etching process, which induces significant economic and environmental problems. We propose the etching-free mechanical releasing of graphene using polymer adhesives. A fracture mechanics approach was introduced to understand the releasing mechanism and ensure highyield process. It is shown that the thickness of adhesive and target substrate affect the transferability of graphene. Based on experimental and fracture mechanics simulation results, we further observed that compliant adhesives can reduce the adhesive stress during the transfer, which also enhances the success probability of graphene transfer.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.351-356
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• 2001

Planarization of the free-standing diamond film surface as smooth as possible could be obtained by using the hydrogen plasma etching with the diffusion of the carbon species into the metal alloy (Fe, Cr, Ni). For this process, we placed the free-standing diamond film between the metal alloy and the Mo substrate like a metal-diamond-molybdenum (MDM) sandwich. We set the sandwich-type MDM in a microwave-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) system. The sandwich-type MDM was heated over ca. 1000 $^{\circ}C$ by using the hydrogen plasma. We call this process as the hydrogen plasma etching with carbon diffusion process. After etching the free-standing diamond film surface, we investigated surface roughness, morphologies, and the incorporated impurities on the etched diamond film surface. Finally, we suggest that the hydrogen plasma etching with carbon diffusion process is an adequate etching technique for the fabrication of the diamond film surface applicable to electronic devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.935-938
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• 1997

Recently, the minimum line width shows a tendency to decrease and the multi-level increase in semiconductor. Therefore, a planarization technique is needed and chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) is considered as one of the most suitable process. CMP accomplishes a high polishing performance and a global planarization of high quality. But there are several defects in CMP such as micro-scratches, abrasive contaminations, and non-uniformity of polished wafer edges. Wet etching include of Spin-etching can improve he defects of CMP. It uses abrasive-free chemical solution instead of slurry. On this study, ILD(INterlayer-Dielectric) was removed by CMP and wet-etching methods in order to investigate the superiority of wet etching mechanism. In the thin film wafer, the results were evaluated at a viewpoint of material removal rate(MRR) and within wafer non-uniformity(WIWNU). And pattern step height was also compared for planarization characteristics of the patterned wafer.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.257-265
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• 2021

In this study, we report niobium (Nb) with hierarchical porous structure produced by a one-pot, HF-free electrochemical etching process. It is proved experimentally that a well-defined hierarchical porous structure is produced from the combination of a limited repetition of pulse etching and high concentration of aggressive anion (i.e., SO₄^2-), which results in hierarchical pores with high order over 3. A formula is derived for the surface area of porous Nb as a function of the hierarchical order of pores while the experimental surface area is estimated on the basis of the electrochemical gas evolution rate on porous Nb. From the comparison of the theoretical and experimental surface areas, an in-depth understanding was gained about porous structure produced in this work in terms of the actual pore shape and hierarchical pore order.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.493-496
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• 2004

The chemical etching of sapphire substrates was peformed to produce smooth surfaces on an atomic scale. The sapphire sur-face etched by using a $H_2$S $O_4$ solution showed a pit-free morphology and was yen smooth as much as $\sigma$$_{rms}$=0.13 nm, that etched by using a mixture of $H_2$S $O_4$ and $H_3$P $O_4$ contained large pits with $\sigma$$_{rms}$=0.34 nm. The $\sigma$$_{rms}$’s and the number of the pits increased with increasing etching temperature. The sapphire etched by using $H_2$S $O_4$ at 32$0^{\circ}C$ had the best surface. These results provide important information on the effects of etching treatment on the structural properties of sapphire for the growth of high-quality epilayers.ayers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.233-233
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM), based on magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and CMOS, is a prominent candidate among prospective semiconductor memories because it can provide nonvolatility, fast access time, unlimited read/write endurance, low operating voltage and high storage density. The etching of MTJ stack with good properties is one of a key process for the realization of high density MRAM. In order to achieve high quality MTJ stack, the use of CoFeB and IrMn magnetic films as free layers was proposed. In this study, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching of CoFeB and IrMn thin films masked with Ti hard mask was investigated in a $Cl_2$/Ar gas mix. The etch rate of CoFeB and IrMn films were examined on varying $Cl_2$ gas concentration. As the $Cl_2$ gas increased, the etch rate monotonously decreased. The effective of etch parameters including coil rf power, dc-bais voltage, and gas pressure on the etch profile of CoFeB and IrMn thin film was explored, At high coil rf power, high dc-bais voltage, low gas pressure, the etching of CoFeB and IrMn displayed better etch profiles. Finally, the clean and vertical etch sidewall of CoFeB and IrMn free layers can be achieved by means of thin Ti hard mask in a $Cl_2$/Ar plasma at the optimized condition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1997.04a
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• pp.23-26
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• 1997

This work presents the TMAH/IPA anisotropic etching characteristics with addition of Pyrazine. (100) Si etching rate of 0.747 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$/min at 8$0^{\circ}C$ was obtained using TMAH 25 wt.% / IPA 17 vol.% / pyrazine 0.1 g. The etching rate of (100) Si is increased about 52% compare to pure TMAH 25 wt.%. But etching rate of (100) Si is decreased with increasing Pyrazine additive. Activation energy of TMAH/IPA/pyrazine is much lower than TMAH and TMAH/IPA solutions. Addition of Pyrazine does not effect on surface flatness and decreases undercutting ratio about 20 %. Therefore, TMAH/IPA/pyrazine is an attractive anisotropic etchant because of alkaline-ion free.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.1068-1071
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• 2001

Recently, the minimum line width shows a tendancy to decrease and the multi-level to increase in semiconductor. Therefore, a planarization technique is needed, which chemical polishing(CMP) is considered as one of the most important process. CMP accomplishes a high polishing performance and a global planarization of high quality. But there are several defects in CMP such as microscratches, abrasive contaminations, and non-uniformity of polished wafer edges. Spin Etching can improve the defects of CMP. It uses abrasive-free chemical solution instead of slurry. Wafer rotates and chemical solution is simultaneously dispensed on a whole surface of the wafer. Thereby chemical reaction is occurred on the surface of wafer, material is removed. On this study, TEOS film is removed by CMP and Spin Etching, the results are estimated at a viewpoint of material removal rate(MRR) and within wafer non-uniformity(WIWNU).