• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.996-1002
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• 2000

Ferroelectric (Ba, Sr) TiO$_3$(BST) thin films have attracted much attention for use in new capacitor materials of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). In order to apply BST to the DRAMs, the etching process for BST thin film with high etch rate and vertical profile must be developed. However, the former studies have the problem of low etch rate. In this study, in order to increase the etch rate, BST thin films were etched with a magnetically enhanced inductively coupled plasma(MEICP) that have much higher plasma density than RIE (reactive ion etching) and ICP (inductively coupled plasma). Experiment was done by varying the etching parameters such as CF$_4$/(CF$_4$+Ar) gas mixing ratio, rf power, dc bias voltage and chamber pressure. The maximum etch rate of the BST films was 170nm/min under CF$_4$/CF$_4$+Ar) of 0.1, 600 W/-350 V and 5 mTorr. The selectivities of BST to Pt and PR were 0.6 and 0.7, respectively. Chemical reaction and residue of the etched surface were investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS).

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.166-169
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• 2010

In this study, we changed the etch parameters (gas mixing ratio, radio frequency [RF] power, direct current [DC]-bias voltage, and process pressure) and then monitored the effect on the $HfAlO_3$ thin film etch rate and the selectivity with $SiO_2$. A maximum etch rate of 108.7 nm/min was obtained in $Cl_2$ (3 sccm)/$BCl_3$ (4 sccm)/Ar (16 sccm) plasma. The etch selectivity of $HfAlO_3$ to $SiO_2$ reached 1.11. As the RF power and the DC-bias voltage increased, the etch rate of the $HfAlO_3$ thin film increased. As the process pressure increased, the etch rate of the $HfAlO_3$ thin films increased. The chemical state of the etched surfaces was investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. According to the results, the etching of $HfAlO_3$ thin film follows the ion-assisted chemical etching.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.286-291
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• 2003

(Pb,Sr)TiO$_3$(PST) thin films have attracted great interest as new dielectric materials of capacitors for Gbit dynamic random access memories. In this study, inductively coupled CF$_4$/Ar plasma was used to etch PST thin films. The maximum etch rate of PST thin films was 740 $\AA$/min at a CF$_4$(20 %)/Ar(80 %) 9as mixing ratio, an RF power of 800 W, a DC bias voltage of -200 V, a total gas flow of 20 sccm, and a chamber pressure of 15 mTorr. To clarify the etching mechanism, the residue on the surface of the etched PST thin films was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that Pb was mainly removed by physically assisted chemical etching. Sputter etching was effective in the etching of Sr than the chemical reaction of F with Sr, while Ti can almost removed by chemical reaction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.400-403
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• 2003

Etching characteristics of (Pb,Sr)$TiO_3$(PST) thin films were investigated using inductively coupled chlorine based plasma system as functions of gas mixing ratio, RF power and DC bias voltage. It was found that increasing of Ar content in gas mixture lead to sufficient increasing of etch rate and selectivity of PST to Pt. The maximum etch rate of PST film is $562\;{\AA}$/min and the selectivity of PST film to Pt is 0.8 at $Cl_2/(Cl_2+Ar)$ of 20 %. It was proposed that sputter etching is dominant etching mechanism while the contribution of chemical reaction is relatively low due to low volatility of etching products.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.32-36
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• 2014

In this study, the etching characteristics of titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) thin films were investigated with the addition of $N_2$ to CF4/Ar plasma. The crystal structure of the $TiO_2$ was amorphous. A maximum etch rate of 111.7 nm/min and selectivity of 0.37 were obtained in an $N_2/CF_4/Ar$ (= 6:16:4 sccm) gas mixture. The RF power was maintained at 700 W, the DC-bias voltage was - 150 V, and the process pressure was 2 Pa. In addition, the etch rate was measured as functions of the etching parameters, such as the gas mixture, RF power, DC-bias voltage, and process pressure. We used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate the chemical state on the surface of the etched $TiO_2$ thin films. To determine the re-deposition and reorganization of residues on the surface, atomic force microscopy was used to examine the surface morphology and roughness of $TiO_2$ thin films.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2007

The etching of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films has been studied using a high density plasma in a $Cl_2/Ar$ gas. The etch characteristics of ZnO thin films were systematically investigated on varying $Cl_2$ concentration, coil rf power, dc-bias voltage, and gas pressure. With increasing $Cl_2$ concentration, the etch rate of ZnO thin film increased, the redeposition around the etched patterns decreased but the sidewall slope of the etched patterns slanted. As the coil rf power and dc-bias voltage increased, the etch rates of ZnO thin films increased and etch profiles of ZnO thin films were improved. With increasing gas pressure, the etch rate of ZnO thin films slightly increased but little change in etch profile was observed. Based on these results, the optimal etching conditions of ZnO thin film were selected. Finally, the etching of ZnO thin films with a high degree of anisotropy of approximately $75^{\circ}{\sim}80^{\circ}$ without the redepositions and residues was successfully achieved at the etching conditions of 20% $Cl_2$ concentration, coil rf power of 1000 W, dc-bias voltage of 400 V, and gas pressure of 5 mTorr.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.385-385
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• 2010

In this work, we have investigated the etching characteristics of $TiO_2$ and selectivity of $TiO_2$ over $SiO_2$ thin films as resistance in ReRAM using the inductively coupled plasma. The etch rate and selectivity were measured by varying the $BCl_3$ addition into Ar plasma. The maximum etchrate was obtained at 110.1nm/min at $BCl_3$/Ar=5sccm/10sccm, 500W for RFpower, -100v for DC-bias voltage, and 2Pa for the process pressure. The etched $TiO_2$ surface was investigated with X-ray photo electron spectroscopy. We explained the etching mechanism in two etch mechanisms, physiclas puttering and chemical reaction.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.564-568
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• 2003

The etching of Au thin films have been performed in an inductively coupled CF$_4$/Cl$_2$/Ar plasma. The etch rates were measured as CF$_4$ contents added from 0 to 30 % to Cl$_2$/Ar plasma, of which gas mixing ratio was fixed at 20%. Other parameters were fixed at an rf power of 700 W, a dc bias voltage of 150 V, a chamber pressure of 15 mTorr, and a substrate temperature of 3$0^{\circ}C$. The highest etch rate of the Au thin film was 3700 $\AA$m/min at a 10% additive CF$_4$ into Cl$_2$/Ar plasma. The surface reaction of the etched Au thin films was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. XPS analysis indicated that Au reacted with Cl and formed Au-Cl, which is hard to remove on the surface because of its high melting point. The etching products could be sputtered by Ar ion bombardment.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.681-685
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• 2012

We investigated the dry etching characteristics of TiN in $TiN/Al_2O_3$ gate stack using a inductively coupled plasma system. TiN thin film is etched by BCl3/He plasma. The etching parameters are the gas mixing ratio, the RF power, the DC-bias voltages and process pressures. The highest etch rate is in $BCl_3/He$ (25%:75%) plasma. The selectivity of TiN thin film to $Al_2O_3$ is pretty similar with $BCl_3/He$ plasma. The chemical reactions of the etched TiN thin films are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The intensities of the Ti 2p and the N 1s peaks are modified by $BCl_3$ plasma. Intensity and binding energy of Ti and N could be changed due to a chemical reaction on the surface of TiN thin films. Also we investigated that the non-volatile byproducts such as $TiCl_x$ formed by chemical reaction with Cl radicals on the surface of TiN thin films.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.251-255
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• 2009

In this study, the plasma etching of the TaN thin film with $O_2/BCl_3$/Ar gas chemistries was investigated. The equipment for the etching was an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system. The etch rate of the TaN thin film and the selectivity of TaN to $SiO_2$ and PR was studied as a function of the process parameters, including the amount of $O_2$ added, an RF power, a DC-bias voltage and the process pressure. When the gas mixing ratio was $O_2$(3 sccm)/$BCl_3$(6 sccm)/Ar(14 sccm), with the other conditions fixed, the highest etch rate was obtained. As the RF power and the dc-bias voltage were increased, the etch rate of the TaN thin film was increased. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate the chemical states of the surface of the TaN thin film.