• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.213-213
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• 2011

DC arc plasmatron is powerful plasma source to apply etching and texturing processing. Even though DC arc plasmatron has many advantages, it is difficult to apply an industry due to the small applied area. To increase an effective processing area, we suggest a DC-RF hybrid plasma system. The DC-RF hybrid plasma system was designed and made. This system consists of a DC arc plasmatron, RF parts, reaction chamber, power feeder, gas control system and vacuum system. To investigate a DC-RF hybrid plasma, we used a Langmuir probe, OES (Optical emission spectroscopy), infrared (IR) light camera. For RF matching, PSIM software was used to simulate a current of an impedance coil. The results of Langmuir probe measurements, we obtain a homogeneous plasma density and electron temperature those are about $1{\times}1010$ #/cm3 and 1~4 eV. The DC-RF hybrid plasma source is applied for plasma etching experimental, and we obtain an etching rate of 10 ${\mu}m$/min. through a 90 mm of reaction chamber diameter.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.132-137
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• 2010

Plasma etching of $SiO_2$ contact holes was statistically analyzed by a fractional factorial experimental design. The analysis revealed the dependence of the etch rate and DC self-bias voltage on the input factors of the magnetically enhanced reactive ion etching reactor, including gas pressure, magnetic field, and the gas flow rates of $CHF_3$, $CF_4$, and Ar. Empirical models of the DC self-bias voltage and etch rate were obtained. The DC self-bias voltage was found to be determined mainly by the operating pressure and the magnetic field, and the etch rate was related mainly to the pressure and the flow rates of Ar and $CHF_3$.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.144-147
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• 2011

In this work, we present a study regarding the etching characteristics on titanium nitride (TiN) thin films using an inductively coupled plasma system. The TiN thin film was etched using a $N_2/BCl_3$/Ar plasma. The studied etching parameters were the gas mixing ratio, the radio frequency (RF) power, the direct current (DC)-bias voltages, and the process pressures. The baseline conditions were as follows: RF power = 500 W, DC-bias voltage = -150 V, substrate temperature = $40^{\circ}C$, and process pressure = 15 mTorr. The maximum etch rate and the selectivity of the TiN to the $SiO_2$ thin film were 62.38 nm/min and 5.7, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed no accumulation of etching byproducts from the etched surface of the TiN thin film. Based on the experimental results, the etched TiN thin film was obtained by the chemical etching found in the reactive ion etching mechanism.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 1997

The growth kinetion of $CuCl_x$ layer on Cu was investigated using $Cl_2$ gas with/without plasma. The etching kinetics ofit was also studied, in which PEt3 gas as well as $Cl_2$ gas were used. when plasma and DC bias were applied, not only the growth rate of $CuCl_x$ layer but also the surface concentration of Cl in $CuCl_x$ layer drastically increased. The growth mode is divided into three regimes, where the thinkness $CuCl_x$ layer ise proportional to t, lo9g $T^{1/2}$ , respectively, whether plasma, is applied or not. These three regime. It is also identified that the eath rate of Cu is drastically increased as the $Cl_2$ pressure is increased. However, when plasma and DC bias were applied, the etching rate is decreased, and ClCu-P-U layer is formed. in addition, as the etching time is increased, the surface concentration of Cl is increased and $CuCl_2$ formed partially.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.05b
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• pp.74-77
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• 2002

Ferroelectric Random Access Memory(FRAM) and MEMS applications require noble metal or refractory metal oxide electrodes. In this study, Ru thin films were etched using $O_2$+10% $CF_4$ plasma in an inductively coupled plasma(ICP) etching system. The etch rate of Ru thin films was examined as function of rf power, DC bias applied to the substrate. The enhanced etch rate can be obtained not only with increasing rf power and DC bias voltage, but also with small addition $CF_4$ gas. The selectivity of $SiO_2$ over Ru are 1.3. Radical densities of oxygen and fluorine in $CF_4/O_2$ plasma have been investigated by optical emission spectroscopy(OES). The etching profiles of Ru films with an photoresist pattern were measured by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The additive gas increases the concentration of oxygen radicals, therefore increases the etch rate of the Ru thin films and enhances the etch slope. In $O_2$+10% $CF_4$ plasma, the etch rate of Ru thin films increases up to 10% $CF_4$ but decreases with increasing $CF_4$ mixing ratio.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.213-213
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM), based on magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and CMOS, is one of the best semiconductor memories because it can provide nonvolatility, fast access time, unlimited read/write endurance, low operating voltage and high storage density. For the realization of high density MRAM, the etching of MTJ stack with good properties is one of a key process. Recently, there has been great interest in the MTJ stack using MgO as barrier layer for its huge room temperature MR ratio. The use of MgO barrier layer will undoubtedly accelerate the development of MTJ stack for MRAM. In this study, high-density plasma reactive ion etching of MgO films was investigated in an inductively coupled plasma of $Cl_2$/Ar gas mixes. The etch rate, etch selectivity and etch profile of this magnetic film were examined on vary gas concentration. As the $Cl_2$ gas concentration increased, the etch rate of MgO monotonously decreased and etch slop was slanted. The effective of etch parameters including coil rf power, dc-bais voltage, and gas pressure on the etch profile of MgO thin film was explored, At high coil rf power, high dc-bais voltage, low gas pressure, the etching of MgO displayed better etch profiles. Finally, the clean and vertical etch sidewall of MgO films was achieved using $Cl_2$/Ar plasma at the optimized etch conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.162-163
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• 2007

The dry etching of Si was investigated using direct dc biasing to the Si substrate. The TCP type etching system with a feed-through for applying a dc bias was used in the etching. The applied dc bias and ICP power was varied to examine the effect on the etching at the fixed chamber pressure and $SF_6$ flow rate of 10 mTorr and 10 sccm during. When the plasma was generated at ICP power of 100 W, the etch rate of Si was increased with the bias for the biased samples. However, the etching of Si for the non-biased sample was enhanced for the increased ICP power.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.106-109
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• 2011

We investigated the etching characteristics of titanium nitride (TiN) thin film in $BCl_3$/Ar inductively coupled plasma. The etching parameters were the gas mixing ratio, radio frequency (RF) power, direct current (DC)-bias voltages and process pressures. The standard conditions were as follows: total flow rate = 20 sccm, RF power = 500 W, DC-bias voltage = -100 V, substrate temperature = $40^{\circ}C$, and process pressure = 15 mTorr. The maximum etch rate of TiN thin film and the selectivity of TiN to $Al_2O_3$ thin film were 54 nm/min and 0.79. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed no accumulation of etch byproducts from the etched surface of TiN thin film. The TiN film etch was dominated by the chemical etching with assistance by Ar sputtering in reactive ion etching mechanism, based on the experimental results.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.297-306
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• 2004

A plasma is a collection of charged particles and on average is electrically neutral. In fabricating integrated circuits, plasma etching is a key means to transfer a photoresist pattern into an underlayer material. To construct a predictive model of plasma-etching processes, a polynomial neural network (PNN) is applied. This process was characterized by a full factorial experiment, and two attributes modeled are its etch rate and DC bias. According to the number of input variables and type of polynomials to each node, the prediction performance of the PNN was optimized. The various performances of the PNN in diverse environments were compared to three types of statistical regression models and the adaptive network fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). As the demonstrated high-prediction ability in the simulation results shows, the PNN is efficient and much more accurate from the point of view of approximation and prediction abilities.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.67-70
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• 2013

In this study, we changed the input parameters (gas mixing ratio, RF power, DC bias voltage, and process pressure), and then monitored the effect on TiN etch rate and selectivity with $SiO_2$. When the RF power, DC-bias voltage, and process pressure were fixed at 700 W, - 150 V, and 15 mTorr, the etch rate of TiN increased with increasing $CF_4$ content from 0 to 20 % in $CF_4$/Ar plasma. The TiN etch rate reached maximum at 20% $CF_4$ addition. As RF power, DC bias voltage, and process pressure increased, all ranges of etch rates for TiN thin films showed increasing trends. The analysis of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried out to investigate the chemical reactions between the surfaces of TiN and etch species. Based on experimental data, ion-assisted chemical etching was proposed as the main etch mechanism for TiN thin films in $CF_4$/Ar plasma.