EE 143: Microfabrication Technology CTN 10/8/14

Lecture Module 4: Etching

EE 143
Microfabrication Technology
Fall 2014
Prof. Clark T.-C. Nguyen
Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720

Lecture Module 4: Etching

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Etching

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EE 143: Microfabrication Technology CTN 10/8/14
Lecture Module 4: Etching

Etching Basics
• Removal of material over designated areas of the wafer
• Two important metrics:
1. Anisotropy
2. Selectivity

1. Anisotropy –
a) Isotopic Etching (most wet etches)
d

PR PR
df
h

If 100% isotropic: df = d + 2h
Define: B = df – d
If B = 2h  isotropic
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Etching Basics (cont.)

b) Partially Isotropic: B < 2h
(most dry etches, e.g., plasma etching)

Degree of Anisotropy: (definition)

B
Af  1  0 if 100% isotropic
2h
0  Af  1 anisotropic

PR PR

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Etching Basics (cont.)

2. Selectivity -

Only poly-Si
PR PR etched (no etching
Ideal Poly-Si
Poly-Si of PR or SiO2)
Etch
SiO2 SiO2
Si Si
Actual Perfect selectivity
Etch

PR partially etched
PR
Poly-Si SiO2 partially etched after
SiO2 some overetch of the polysilicon

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Etching Basics (cont.)

Why overetch?

2d  1.4d  0.56 m Thicker spots due to topography!

1
0.4m  d
PR
Poly-Si  conformal if
deposited by LPCVD
45° 0.4m

10nm
Gate
oxide Thus, must overetch at least 40%:
40% overetch  (0.4)(0.4) = 0.16 m poly
= ??? oxide

Depends on the selectivity

of poly-Si over the oxide

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Etching Basics (cont.)

Define selectivity of A over B:

E.R.a Etch rate of A

S ab 
E.R.b Etch rate of B

Selectivity of A over B
e.g., wet poly etch (HNO3 + NH4 + H2O)
15
S poly SiO2  (very good selectivity)
1
S poly PR  Very high (but PR can still peel off after
soaking for > 30 min., so beware)
e.g., polysilicon dry etch:
Regular RIE
57
S poly SiO2  (but depends on type of etcher)
1
4 ECR: 30:1
S poly PR 
1 Bosch: 100:1 (or better)
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Etching Basics (cont.)

8
If S poly SiO2  40% overetch removes
1
0.16
 20 nm of oxide! This will etch all poly
8 over the thin oxide,
etch thru the 10nm
of oxide, then start
with better selectivity: etching into the
30 silicon substrate 
e.g., S poly SiO2  needless to say, this
1
is bad!
(Can attain with high density
Cl plasma ECR etch!)
0.16
40% overetch removes  5.3nm (better)
30

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EE 143: Microfabrication Technology CTN 10/8/14
Lecture Module 4: Etching

Wet Etching

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Wet Etching
• Wet etching: dip wafer into liquid wafer
solution to etch the desired film etch
 Generally isotropic, thus, Solvent bath
inadequate for defining
features < 3m-wide
PR PR

• General Mechanism - Si

o Reactant 1. Diffusion of the

o Reaction
reactant to the film
o products surface
2. Reaction: adsorption,
Film to PR PR reaction, desorption
be 3. Diffusion of reaction
etched Si products from the
surface
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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Wet Etching (cont.)

• There are many processes by which wet etching can occur
 Could be as simple as dissolution of the film into the
solvent solution
 Usually, it involves one or more chemical reactions
 Oxidation-reduction (redox) is very common:
(a) Form layer of oxide
(b) Dissolve/react away the oxide

• Advantages:
1. High throughput process  can etch many wafers in a
single bath
2. Usually fast etch rates (compared to many dry etch
processes)
3. Usually excellent selectivity to the film of interest

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Wet Etching Limitations

1. Isotropic
 Limited to <3m features
 But this is also an advantage of wet etching, e.g., if
used for undercutting for MEMS
2. Higher cost of etchants & DI water compared w/ dry etch
gas expenses (in general, but not true vs. deep etchers)
3. Safety
 Chemical handling is a hazard
4. Exhaust fumes and potential for explosion
 Need to perform wet etches under hood
5. Resist adhesion problems
 Need HMDS (but this isn’t so bad)

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Wet Etch Limitations (cont.)

6. Incomplete wetting of the surface:

Pockets where wetting

hasn’t occurred, yet
(eventually, it will occur).
Solvent Wetted surface
bath
But this will lead
wafer to nonuniform
etching across
the wafer.

 For some etches (e.g., oxide etch using HF), the solution
is to dip in DI water first, then into HF solution  the
DI water wets the surface better

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Wet Etch Limitations (cont.)

7. Bubble formation (as a reaction by-product)
 If bubbles cling to the surface  get nonuniform etching

Bubble (gaseous by-product)

PR PR
Non-uniform etching
Film to
be
etched Si wafer Solution: Agitate
wafers during reaction.

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Some Common Wet Etch Chemistries

Wet Etching Silicon:

Common: Si + HNO3 + 6HF H2SiF6 + HNO2 + H2 + H2O

(isotropic)
(nitric (hydrofluoric
acid) acid)

(1) forms a layer (2) etches away

of SiO2 the SiO2

Different mixture combinations yield different etch rates.

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Silicon Crystal Orientation

z z z
a (100) plane a (110) plane e a [111]

y y y

[110] ]
(111) plane
<110> plane 
@ coordinate x [100]
] x coordinate x
to this vector (1,1,0) @ coordinate
(1,0,0)
<100> plane  defines (1,1,1), <111> plane
to this vector vector  to resulting vector

• Silicon has the basic diamond

structure
 Two merged FCC cells offset
by (a/4) in x, y, and z axes
 From right:
Increasing

# available bonds/cm2 <111>

# available bonds/cm2 <110>
# available bonds/cm2 <100>
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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Anisotropic Wet Etching

Anisotropic etches also available for single crystal Si:

 Orientation-dependent etching: <111>-plane more
densely packed than <100>-plane
Slower E.R.
Faster E.R.

…in some solvents

One such solvent: KOH + isopropyl alcohol

(e.g., 23.4 wt% KOH, 13.3 wt% isopropyl alcohol, 63 wt% H2O)

E.R.<100> = 100 x E.R.<111>

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Anisotropic Wet Etching (cont.)

Can get the following:

<111> <100> SiO2

(on a <100> - wafer)

54.7° Si

SiO2
<110> <111>

(on a <110> - wafer)

Si Quite anisotropic!

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EE 143: Microfabrication Technology CTN 10/8/14
Lecture Module 4: Etching

Wet Etching SiO2

SiO2 + 6HF H2 + SiF6 + 2H2O
Generally used to clear out residual oxides from contacts
Problem: Contact hole is so thin that surface
tensions don’t allow the HF to get into the contact
Generally the case for VLSI circuits
HF

bubble oxide
native oxide
can get this just by exposing
nt Si to air 1-2nm-thick
300nm

Solution: add a surfactant (e.g., Triton X) to the BHF

before the contact clear etch
1. Improves the ability of HF to wet the surface (hence, get
into the contact)
2. Suppresses the formation of etch by-products, which
otherwise can block further reaction if by-products get
caught in the contact
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More Wet Etch Chemistries

• Wet etching silicon nitride
 Use hot phosphoric acid: 85% phosphoric acid @ 180oC
 Etch rate ~ 10 nm/min (quite slow)
 Problem: PR lifted during such etching
 Solution: use SiO2 as an etch mask (E.R. ~2.5 nm/min)
A hassle  dry etch processes more common than wet
• Wet etchining aluminum
 Typical etch solution composition:
80% phoshporic acid, 5% nitric acid, 5% acetic acid, 10% water
(H2PO4) (HNO3) (CH3COOH) (H2O)

(1) Forms Al2O3 (aluminum oxide)

(2) Dissolves the Al2O3

 Problem: H2 gas bubbles adhere firmlly to the surface 

delay the etch  need a 10-50% overetch time
 Solution: mechanical agitation, periodic removal of wafers
from etching solution
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EE 143: Microfabrication Technology CTN 10/8/14
Lecture Module 4: Etching

Wet Etch Rates (f/ K. Williams)

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Film Etch Chemistries

• For some popular films:

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Dry Etching

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Dry Etching
• Physical sputtering
• Plasma etching All based upon
plasma processes.
• Reactive ion etching
(+) ions generated by
inelastic collisions with
RF (also, could be wave)
~ energetic e-1’s
Get avalanche effect
because more e-1’s
Develop (-) bias) come out as each ion is
generated.

+++++++++ Plasma (partially ionized gas composed of ions,

e-’s, and highly reactive neutral species)
E-field
wafer

Develops (+) charge to  (+) ions will be accelerated

compensate for to the wafer
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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Physical Sputtering (Ion Milling)

• Bombard substrate w/ energetic ions  etching via physical
momentum transfer
• Give ions energy and directionality using E-fields
• Highly directional  very anisotropic
ions

plasma

PR PR

film

Si

Steep vertical wall

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Problems With Ion Milling

PR etched
down to here
PR PR PR

Once through film

the film, the
etch will start Si
barreling
through the Si

1. PR or other masking material etched at almost

the same rate as the film to be etched  very
poor selectivity!
2. Ejected species not inherently volatile  get
redeposition  non-uniform etch  grass!

• Because of these problems, ion milling is not used often

(very rare)
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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Plasma Etching
• Plasma (gas glow discharge) creates reactive species that
chemically react w/ the film in question
• Result: much better selectivity, but get an isotropic etch
1
plasma
Plasma Etching Mechanism: 6
2
5
1. Reactive species generated in a
plasma. PR PR
43
2. Reactive species diffuse to the
surface of material to be etched. Film to be etched
3. Species adsorbed on the surface.
Si
4. Chemical reaction.
5. By-product desorbed from surface.
MOST IMPORTANT
6. Desorbed species diffuse into the STEP! (determines
bulk of the gas whether plasma etching
is possible or not.)
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Ex: Polysilicon Etching w/ CF4 and O2

CF4 CF4+ + CF3+ + CF2+ + CF+ + F+ + F0 + CF2+ + …

plasma
Neutral radical
Si (highly reactive!)

e- + CF4  CF3 + F + e-

SiCF6, SiF4 both volatile  dry etching is possible.

• F° is the dominant reactant  but it can’t be given a
direction  thus, get isotropic etch!
isotropic
F0 F0 SiF4
component PR

polySi

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Ex: Polysilicon Etching w/ CF4 and O2

isotropic
F0 F0 SiF4
component PR

polySi

• Problems:
1. Isotropic etching
2. Formation of polymer because of C in CF4
 Solution: add O2 to remove the polymer (but note
that this reduces the selectivity, Spoly/PR)
• Solution:
 Use Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)

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Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)

• Use ion bombardment to aid and enhance reactive etching in
a particular direction
 Result: directional, anisotropic etching!
• RIE is somewhat of a misnomer
 It’s not ions that react … rather, it’s still the neutral
species that dominate reaction
 Ions just enhance reaction of these neutral radicals in a
specific direction

• Two principle postulated mechanisms behind RIE

1. Surface damage mechanism
2. Surface inhibitor mechanism

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

RIE: Surface Damage Mechanism

plasma • Relatively high energy

impinging ions (>50 eV)
reactive + produce lattice damage
+
radical +
at surface
PR PR
• Reaction at these
film damaged sites is
enhanced compared to
Si reactions at undamaged
areas
Enhanced reaction over

Result: E.R. at surface >> E.R. on sidewalls

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RIE: Surface Inhibitor Mechanism

• Non-volatile polymer
layers are a product of
plasma reaction
reactive
• They are removed by
+ + + high energy directional
radical
PR PR ions on the horizontal
surface, but not
film removed from sidewalls
Si no reaction

(+) ions breakup get

the polymer layer reaction

Result: E.R. @ surface >> E.R. on sidewalls

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Deep Reactive-Ion Etching (DRIE)

The Bosch process:
• Inductively-coupled plasma
• Etch Rate: 1.5-4 m/min
• Two main cycles in the etch:
 Etch cycle (5-15 s): SF6 (SFx+)
etches Si
 Deposition cycle: (5-15 s): C4F8
deposits fluorocarbon protective
polymer (CF2-)n
• Etch mask selectivity:
 SiO2 ~ 200:1
 Photoresist ~ 100:1
• Issue: finite sidewall roughness
 scalloping < 50 nm
• Sidewall angle: 90o ± 2o
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DRIE Issues: Etch Rate Variance

• Etch rate is diffusion-limited

and drops for narrow
trenches
 Adjust mask layout to
eliminate large disparities
Etch
Etchrate
ratedecreases
 Adjust process parameters with
decreases
withtrench
trenchwidth
width
(slow down the etch rate
to that governed by the
slowest feature)
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Lecture Module 4: Etching

Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP)

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Sandia’s SUMMiT V
• SUMMiT V: “Sandia Ultra-planar Multi-level MEMS
Technology 5” fabrication process
 Five-layer polysilicon surface micromachining process
 One electrical interconnect layer & 4 mechanical layers
 Uses chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to maintain
planarity as more structural layers are realized
 14 masks

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Lecture Module 4: Etching

SUMMiT V Layer Stack

• Uses chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to maintain

planarity as more structural layers are realized
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Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP)

• Used to planarize the top surface of a semiconductor wafer
or other substrate
• Uses an abrasive and corrosive chemical slurry (i.e., a
colloid) in conjunction with a polishing pad
 Wafer and pad are pressed together
 Polishing head is rotated with different axes of rotation
(i.e., non-concentric) to randomize the polishing
Top
Carrier/Chuck Side
View DI Water View
Pad Conditioner
Slurry

Slurry
Platen

Wafer Pad
Backing-Film
Pad
Carrier
Chuck Pad Conditioner
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Lecture Module 4: Etching

CMP: Not the Same as Lapping

Lapping Chemical Mechanical Polishing
• Lapping is merely the removal • CMP is selective to certain
of material to flatten a films, and not selective to
surface without selectivity others
• Everything is removed at
approximately the same rate

Stops
Stops at
at non-
non-
Removes selective
selective layer
layer
Removes diff.
diff. CMP
materials
materials at
at
Lapping same
same rate
rate

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Actual SUMMiT Cross-Section

• No CMP until after the first three polySi layers

• 1 m mmpoly1 and 1.5 m mmpoly2 can be combined to form
a 2.5 m polysilicon film
• Refer to the SUMMiT V manual (one of your handouts) for
more detailed information on masks and layout instructions

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