• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.216-220
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• 2013

The etching characteristics of indium zinc oxide (IZO) in $Cl_2/Ar$ plasma were investigated, including the etch rate and selectivity of IZO. The IZO etch rate showed non-monotonic behavior with increasing $Cl_2$ fraction in the $Cl_2/Ar$ plasma, and with increasing source power, bias power, and process pressure. In the $Cl_2/Ar$ (75:25%) gas mixture, a maximum IZO etch rate of 87.6 nm/min and etch selectivity of 1.09 for IZO to $SiO_2$ were obtained. Owing to the relatively low volatility of the by-products formation, ion bombardment was required, in addition to physical sputtering, to obtain high IZO etch rates. The chemical state of the etched surfaces was investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These data suggested that the IZO etch mechanism was ion-enhanced chemical etching.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.488-493
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• 2009

We developed a simple method to control the length of carbon nanotube array by using oxygen plasma etching. In this way, we could obtain a carbon nanotube with a uniform length (20, 30, 50, $70\;{\mu}m$), that was parallel to the substrate. Moreover, our growing method of carbon nanotube array gives a uniform diameter ~3.5nm, which is consistent with our previous results. Using the same etching method, we demonstrated the carbon nanotube radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna. The results could be useful for carbon nanotube applications such as flexible and transparent conductive films.

• 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.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.1111-1113
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• 2004

n+ etching process is investigated in the fabrication of TFF-LCD using low resistance data line of Mo/Al/Mo. Problems of consumption of upper Mo layer and contamination of channel area are resolved. Either of HCl or $Cl_2$ can be selected as a main etchant gas, and either of $SF_6$ or $CF_4$ can be selected as an additive. Plasma treatment after n+ etching process can reduce the off-current high problem.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2013

Advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology requires methods to maximize tool efficiency and improve product quality by reducing process variability. Real-time plasma process monitoring and diagnosis have become crucial for fault detection and classification (FDC) and advanced process control (APC). Additional sensors may increase the accuracy of detection of process anomalies, and optical monitoring methods are non-invasive. In this paper, we propose the use of a chromatic data acquisition system for real-time in-situ plasma process monitoring called the Plasma Eyes Chromatic System (PECS). The proposed system was initially tested in a six-inch research tool, and it was then further evaluated for its potential to detect process anomalies in an eight-inch production tool for etching blanket oxide films. Chromatic representation of the PECS output shows a clear correlation with small changes in process parameters, such as RF power, pressure, and gas flow. We also present how the PECS may be adapted as an in-situ plasma arc detector. The proposed system can provide useful indications of a faulty process in a timely and non-invasive manner for successful run-to-run (R2R) control and FDC.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.1 s.284
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• pp.33-37
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• 2006

For producing the fine ribs structure of plasma display panel, the metal ions of barrier materials during the etching process should be understood on the etching mechanism with etching conditions. Etching was done on bulk glasses of the $BaO_B_2O_3-ZnO$ system with $HNO_3$ solution at $40^{\circ}C$. The surface structure of glasses and ion dissolution were analyzed by ICP (Inductive Coupled Plasma measurement). The structure and surface of the etched bulk glass were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy and nanoindenter. As a result, Ba (3-35 ppm/min) and Zn (2-27 ppm/min) ions as major components were leached in the solution and the leached layers were found to be phosphor-rich surface layers. A decrease of the bridge oxygen and relative increase of non bridge oxygen in the etched glass were found by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.35-39
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• 2009

A novel Helmholtz coil inductively coupled plasma(H-ICP) etcher is proposed and characterized for deep nano-scale CMOS technology. Various hardware tests are performed while varying key parameters such as distance between the top and bottom coils, the distance between the chamber ceiling and the wafer, and the chamber height in order to determine the optimal design of the chamber and optimal process conditions. The uniformity was significantly improved by applying the optimum conditions. The plasma density obtained with the H-ICP source was about $5{\times}10^{11}/cm^3$, and the electron temperature was about 2-3 eV. The etching selectivity for the poly-silicon gate versus the ultra-thin gate oxide was 482:1 at 10 sccm of $HeO_2$. The proposed H-ICP was successfully applied to form multiple 60-nm poly-silicon gate layers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2005

A new model of plasma etch process was constructed by using a radial basis function network (RBFN). This technique was applied to an etching of silicon carbide films in a NF$_3$ inductively coupled plasma. Experimental data to train RBFN were systematically collected by means of a 2$^4$ full factorial experiment. Appropriateness of prediction models was tested with test data consisted of 16 experiments not pertaining to the training data. Prediction performance was optimized with variations in three training factors, the number of pattern units, width of radial basis function, and initial weight distribution between the pattern and output layers. The etch responses to model were an etch rate and a surface roughness measured by atomic force microscopy. Optimized models had the root mean-squared errors of 26.1 nm/min and 0.103 nm for the etch rate and surface roughness, respectively. Compared to statistical regression models, RBFN models demonstrated an improvement of more than 20 % and 50 % for the etch rate and surface roughness, respectively. It is therefore expected that RBFN can be effectively used to construct prediction models of plasma processes.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.111-116
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• 2009

In this paper, a plasma-assisted patterning method for the organic layers of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and its effect on the OLED performances are reported. Oxygen plasma was used to etch the organic layers, using the top electrode consisting of lithium fluoride and aluminum as an etching mask. Although the current flow at low voltages increased for the etched OLEDs, there was no significant degradation of the OLED efficiency and lifetime in comparison with the conventional OLEDs. Therefore, this method can be used to reduce the ohmic voltage drop along the common top electrodes by connecting the top electrode with highly conductive bus lines after the common organic layers on the bus lines are etched by plasma. To further analyze the current increase at low voltages, the plasma patterning effect on the OLED performance was investigated by changing the device sizes, especially in one direction, and by changing the etching depth in the vertical direction of the device. It was found that the current flow increase at low voltages was not proportional to the device sizes, indicating that the current flow increase does not come from the leakage current along the etched sides. In the etching depth experiment, the current flow at low voltages did not increase when the etching process was stopped in the middle of the hole transport layer. This means that the current flow increase at low voltages is closely related to the modification of the hole injection layer, and thus, to the modification of the interface between the hole injection layer and the bottom electrode.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.55-60
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• 2002

This paper presents a technique for the preparation of vertically grown CNTs by ICPHFCVD(inductively coupled plasma hot filament chemical vapor deposition) below $580^{\circ}C$. Purification of the CNTs(carbon nanotubes) using RE(radio frequency) plasma in a one step process, based on the different etching property of the Ni-tip, amorphous carbon and carbonaceous materials is also discussed. After purifying the grown materials. CNTs shown the multi walled and hollow typed structure. The typical outer and inner diameters or CNT were 50 nm and 25 nm, respectively. The graphitic wall was composed of 82 layers and the distance between wall and wall was 0.34 nm. From the results of TEM observation, the Ni catalyst at the tip of the carbon nanotubes were effectively removed by using a RF plasma etching, continuously.