• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.164-165
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• 2005

The dry etch characteristics of GaAs over both AlGaAs and InGaP in planar inductively coupled $BCl_3$-based plasmas(ICP) with additions of $SF_6$ or $CF_4$ were studied. The additions of flourine gases provided enhanced etch selectivities of GaAs/AlGaAs and GaAs/InGaP. The etch stop reaction involving formation of involatile $AlF_3$ and $InF_3$ (boiling points of etch products: $AlF_3\sim1300^{\circ}C$, $InF_3$ > $1200^{\circ}C$ at atmosphere) were found to be effective under high density inductively coupled plasma condition. Decrease of etch rates of all materials was probably due to strong increase of flourine atoms in the discharge, which blocked the surface of the material against chlorine neutral adsorption. The process parameters were ICP source power (0 - 500 W), RF chuck power (0 - 30 W) and variable gas composition. The process results were characterized in terms of etch rate, selectivities of GaAs over AlGaAs and InGaP, surface morphology, surface roughness and residues after etching.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.290-295
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• 2000

In order to utilize as a pre-ionization means for reproducible ohmic plasma on KAIST-TOKAMAK, a simple, safe, economical and continuous microwave source has been developed using a home kitchen micro-wave oven. The magnetron used in the study can provide 500 W of power at 2.45 GHz. A conventional magnetron in a home kitchen microwave oven generates microwave for 8 ms at every 16 ms periodically due to the periodic (60 Hz) high voltage applied to the magnetron cathode. In order to generate continuous microwave which is suitable for tokamak pre-ionization, the magnetron operation circuit has been modified using a DC high voltage (5 kV, 1 A) power supply. It provides high-voltage with small ripple for magnetron cathode bias. Using the developed magnetron system, electron cyclotron resonace heated (ECH) plasmas were produced and the characteristics of the system were studied by diagnosing the ECH plasma using Langmuir probe and $H_{\alpha}$ emission diagnostics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.448-448
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) has made a prominent progress in memory performance and has brought a bright prospect for the next generation nonvolatile memory technologies due to its excellent advantages. Dry etching process of magnetic thin films is one of the important issues for the magnetic devices such as magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) based MRAM. CoFeB is a well-known soft ferromagnetic material, of particular interest for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) and other devices based on tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR), such as spin-transfer-torque MRAM. One particular example is the CoFeB - MgO - CoFeB system, which has already been integrated in MRAM. In all of these applications, knowledge of control over the etching properties of CoFeB is crucial. Recently, transferring the pattern by using milling is a commonly used, although the redeposition of back-sputtered etch products on the sidewalls and the low etch rate of this method are main disadvantages. So the other method which has reported about much higher etch rates of >$50{\AA}/s$ for magnetic multi-layer structures using $Cl_2$/Ar plasmas is proposed. However, the chlorinated etch residues on the sidewalls of the etched features tend to severely corrode the magnetic material. Besides avoiding corrosion, during etching facets format the sidewalls of the mask due to physical sputtering of the mask material. Therefore, in this work, magnetic material such as CoFeB was etched in an ICP etching system using the gases which can be expected to form volatile metallo-organic compounds. As the gases, carbon monoxide (CO) and ammonia ($NH_3$) were used as etching gases to form carbonyl volatiles, and the etched features of CoFeB thin films under by Ta masking material were observed with electron microscopy to confirm etched resolution. And the etch conditions such as bias power, gas combination flow, process pressure, and source power were varied to find out and control the properties of magnetic layer during the process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.458-458
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• 2010

The process window for the etch selectivity of silicon nitride ($Si_3N_4$) layers to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) resist and variation of line edge roughness (LER) of EUV resist were investigated durin getching of $Si_3N_4$/EUV resist structure in a dual-frequency superimposed capacitive coupled plasma (DFS-CCP) etcher by varying the process parameters, such as the $CH_2F_2$ and $N_2$ gas flow rate in $CH_2F_2/N_2$/Ar plasma. The $CH_2F_2$ and $N_2$ flow rate was found to play a critical role in determining the process window for infinite etch selectivity of $Si_3N_4$/EUV resist, due to disproportionate changes in the degree of polymerization on $Si_3N_4$ and EUV resist surfaces. The preferential chemical reaction between hydrogen and carbon in the hydrofluorocarbon ($CH_xF_y$) polymer layer and the nitrogen and oxygen on the $Si_3N_4$, presumably leading to the formation of HCN, CO, and $CO_2$ etch by-products, results in a smaller steady-state hydrofluorocarbon thickness on $Si_3N_4$ and, in turn, in continuous $Si_3N_4$ etching due to enhanced $SiF_4$ formation, while the $CH_xF_y$ layer is deposited on the EUV resist surface. Also critical dimension (and line edge roughness) tend to decrease with increasing $N_2$ flow rate due to decreased degree of polymerization.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.416-422
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• 1999

The characteristics of inductively coupled Cl$_2$/BCl$_3$ plasmas during the GaN etching were studied using plasma mass spectrometry by measuring the relative amounts of reactive ions, neutrals, and etch products. GaN etch rates increased with the increase of pressure and showed a maximum near 25mTorr for the pure $Cl_2$ and near 30mTorr for $Cl_2$$BCl_3$. The addition of$ BCl_3$ to $Cl_2$ also was increased GaN etch rates until 50%BCl$_3$ was mixed to $Cl_2$. The GaN etching with pure $Cl Cl_2$ appears to be related to the combination of Cl$_2^{+}$ ion bombardment and the chemical reaction of Cl radicals. In the case of the GaN etching with Cl$_2$/BCl$_3$, in addition to the combined effect of$_2^{ +}$ ions and Cl radicals, $_BCl2^{+ }$ ions appear to be responsible for some of GaN etching even though they do not have significant effect on the GaN etching compared to $Cl_2^{+}$ and Cl. $Ga^{+ }$ , $GaCl^{+}$ , $GaCl_2^{+}$ , and $N_2^{+}$ were observed as the positive ions of etch products, and the intensities of these etch products showed the same trends as those of GaN etch rate. Among the etch products, Ga and $N_2$ appear to be the main etch products.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.78-79
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• 2007

In this study, chemical dry characteristics of silicon nitride layers were investigated in the $F_2/N_2/Ar$ remote plasma. A toroidal-type remote plasma source was used for the generation of remote plasmas. The effects of additive $N_2$ gas on the etch rates of various silicon nitride layers deposited using different deposition techniques and precursors were investigated by varying the various process parameters, such as the $F_2$ flow rate, the addition $N_2$ flow rate and the substrate temperature. The etch rates of the various silicon nitride layers at the room temperature were initially increased and then decreased with the $N_2$ flow increased, which indicates an existence of the maximum etch rates. The etch rates of the silicon oxide layers were also significantly increased with the substrate temperature increased. In the present experiments the $F_2$ gas flow, addition $N_2$ flow rate and the substrate temperature were found to be the critical parameters in determining the etch rate of the silicon nitride layers

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.227-232
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• 2014

In this study, we propose the application of doping process technology for atmospheric pressure plasma. The plasma treatment means the wafer is warmed via resistance heating from current paths. These paths are induced by the surface charge density in the presence of illuminating Argon atmospheric plasmas. Furthermore, it is investigated on the high-concentration doping to a selective partial region in P type solar cell wafer. It is identified that diffusion of impurities is related to the wafer temperature. For the fixed plasma treatment time, plasma currents were set with 40, 70, 120 mA. For the processing time, IR(Infra-Red) images are analyzed via a camera dependent on the temperature of the P type wafer. Phosphorus concentrations are also analyzed through SIMS profiles from doped wafer. According to the analysis for doping process, as applied plasma currents increase, so the doping depth becomes deeper. As the junction depth is deeper, so the surface resistance is to be lowered. In addition, the surface charge density has a tendency inversely proportional to the initial phosphorus concentration. Overall, when the plasma current increases, then it becomes higher temperatures in wafer. It is shown that the diffusion of the impurity is critically dependent on the temperature of wafers.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.775-778
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• 2003

We studied InP etching in high density planar inductively coupled $BCl_3$and $BCl_3$/Ar plasmas(PICP). The investigated process parameters were PICP source power, RIE chuck power, chamber pressure and $BCl_3$/Ar gas composition. It was found that increase of PICP source power and RIE chuck power increased etch rate of InP, while that of chamber pressure decreased etch rate. Etched InP surface was clean and smooth (RMS roughness <2 nm) with a moderate etch rate (300-500 $\AA$/min) after the planar $BCl_3$/Ar ICP etching. It may make it possible to open a new regime of InP etching with $CH_4$$H_2$-free plasma chemistry. Some amount of Ar addition (<50%) also improved etch rates of InP, while too much Ar addition reduced etch rates of InP.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.35-39
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• 2019

Effect of Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST) chalcogen composition on plasma induced damage was investigated by using Ar ions and F radicals. Experiments were carried out with three different modes; the physical etching, the chemical etching, and the ion-enhanced chemical etching mode. For the physical etching by Ar ions, the sputtering yield was obtained according to ion bombarding energy and there was no change in GST composition ratio. In the plasma mode, the lowest etch rate was measured at the same applied power and there was also no plasma induced damage. In the ion-enhanced chemical etching conditions irradiated with high energy ions and F halogen radicals, the GST composition ratio was changed according to the density of F radicals, resulting in higher roughness of the etched surface. The change of GST composition ratio in halogen plasma is caused by the volatility difference of GST-halogen compounds with high energy ions over than the activation energy of surface reactions.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.346-349
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• 1998

In order to reduce to the defect density in poly-Si/SiO$_2$ thin films, where poly-Si is either undoped or doped by BF$_2$ implantation, the poly-Si/SiO$_2$ samples have been hydrogenated by rf plasmas of low temperature. Before hydrogenation, both $P_b$ centers and E centers were observed in the poly-Si(undoped)/SiO$_2$ and in the poly-Si(doped)/SiO$_2$. After 30 min hydrogenation, the $P_b$ center was reduced by 80 % doped sample and by 76 % in the undoped sample and the E center was not observed. After 90min hydrogenation, however, increases of the $P_b$ centers and regenerations of the E center were observed in the undoped sample as well as in the doped one. Compared with the undoped sample, the increase of $P_b$ center in the doped one was more dominant.