Relentless scaling of advanced integrated devices drives feature dimensions towards values which can be expressed in small multiples of the lattice spacing of silicon. One of the consequences of dealing with features on such an atomic scale is that surface properties start to play an increasingly important role. To encompass both dimensional as well as compositional and structural control, we introduce the term “atomic scale fidelity.” In this paper, we will discuss the challenges as well as new solutions to achieve atomic scale fidelity for patterning etch processes. Fidelity of critical dimensions (CD) across the wafer is improved by means of the Hydra Uniformity System. Wafer, chip and feature level atomic scale fidelity such as etch rate uniformity, aspect ratio dependent etching (ARDE) /1/, selectivity and surface damage can be addressed with emerging atomic layer etching (ALE) approaches /2/.

Date Published: 17 March 2015
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9428, Advanced Etch Technology for Nanopatterning IV, 942809 (17 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2178326

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9428:
Advanced Etch Technology for Nanopatterning IV
Qinghuang Lin; Sebastian U. Engelmann; Ying Zhang, Editor(s)