OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

GENERAL INFORMATION
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) etching is a technique which uses a radio frequency (RF) energy coupled into a low pressure gas by an inductive coil mounted on the outside of a quartz window. This technique allows fabrication of high aspect ratio silicon features with vertical sidewalls; based on the inductive generation of a plasma containing free fluorine (F), which etches silicon. Two independent power supplies are used in this system. A low frequency supply is used to generate a high density plasma above the surface of the substrate. A high frequency supply provides a substrate bias to extract ions from the plasma. This combination allows high density plasma to process substrates at low substrate bias which yields very high throughput and low damage to the substrate.

Instrument/process parameters such as gas flow rates, chamber pressure, coil power and the geometries of the pattern being etched affect process results. ICP etchers produce relatively low ion energies; so biasing of the substrate being etched is used to tailor ion bombardment energies and tune the degree of anisotropy of the etch features. This machine is a new version of the ICP PlasmaLab80 with a new PLC and turbo, as well as closed coupled MFC allowing for Bosch silicon etch. Other materials etched that can be etched using this machine include: SiN, SiO2, Si, metal masked materials, and more. Available gases are: SF6, C4F8, CHF3, O2, and Ar.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For additional information about the new, direct load, Oxford PlasmaLab 80 Plus ICP 65, please contact the clean room staff at: cniCR@columbia.edu.