Inductively coupled plasma etching of graded-refractive-index layers of TiO2 and SiO2 using an ITO hard mask
نویسندگان
چکیده
Transparent dielectric layers with varying compositions of TiO2 and SiO2, and ITO are deposited on sapphire and Si substrates by using an RF sputter system. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactive ion etching (RIE) of the ITO hard mask is examined under H2, CH4, and Cl2 chemical environments. The slope of the sidewall and the etch residue on the sidewall of the ITO hard mask are controlled by the flow rates of H2, CH4, and Cl2. ICP-RIE dry etch of TiO2 and SiO2 is investigated under fluorinated environments. Comparable etch rates of TiO2 and SiO2 (ratio 2:1) and high selectivity 1 over ITO are found. Graded-refractive-index (GRIN) layers, made up of multiple dielectric layers of TiO2 and SiO2, are patterned to form cylindrical pillars by ICP etching using the ITO hard mask. Fluorine containing residues are identified on the TiO2 and SiO2 surfaces. Various etch chemistries are investigated to obtain smooth, vertical, and residue-free sidewalls of the GRIN pillars. VC 2011 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3620494]
منابع مشابه
Researching the Aluminum Nitride Etching Process for Application in MEMS Resonators
We investigated the aluminum nitride etching process for MEMS resonators. The process is based on Cl2/BCl3/Ar gas chemistry in inductively coupled plasma system. The hard mask of SiO2 is used. The etching rate, selectivity, sidewall angle, bottom surface roughness and microtrench are studied as a function of the gas flow rate, bias power and chamber pressure. The relations among those parameter...
متن کاملEffects of radio frequency bias frequency and radio frequency bias pulsing on SiO2 feature etching in inductively coupled fluorocarbon plasmas
The effect of radio frequency ~rf! bias frequency on SiO2 feature etching using inductively coupled fluorocarbon plasmas is investigated. It is found that the rf bias frequency can have an important effect on SiO2 feature etch rate, microtrenching phenomena, and SiO2-to-photoresist etch selectivity. In addition, the effect of rf bias pulsing on inductively coupled fluorocarbon plasma SiO2 etchi...
متن کاملDry etching of Co2MnSi magnetic thin films using a CH3OH/Ar based inductively coupled plasma
The inductively coupled plasma etching characteristics of Co2MnSi thin films patterned using a TiN hard mask were investigated by the addition of CH3OH to Ar gas. As the CH3OH concentration increased, the etch rates of Co2MnSi magnetic thin films and TiN hard mask decreased, but the etch profile improved. The effects of rf power, dc-bias voltage and gas pressure on the etch rate and etch profil...
متن کاملPatterning of light-extraction nanostructures on sapphire substrates using nanoimprint and ICP etching with different masking materials.
Sapphire nanopatterning is the key solution to GaN light emitting diode (LED) light extraction. One challenge is to etch deep nanostructures with a vertical sidewall in sapphire. Here, we report a study of the effects of two masking materials (SiO2 and Cr) and different etching recipes (the reaction gas ratio, the reaction pressure and the inductive power) in a chlorine-based (BCl3 and Cl2) ind...
متن کاملEffect of radio frequency bias power on SiO2 feature etching in inductively coupled fluorocarbon plasmas
We present and discuss results obtained in studies of the mechanisms underlying various feature size dependencies of SiO2 etching in inductively coupled fluorocarbon plasmas. The variation of the fluorocarbon deposition rate and the SiO2 etch rate with both feature size and rf bias power has been measured in a variety of constant aspect ratio features for both an etch stop (C3F6 /H2) and a none...
متن کامل