Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1669715 Thin Solid Films 2010 5 Pages PDF
Abstract

The etching characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) including the etch rate and the selectivity of ZnO in a BCl3/Ar plasma were investigated. It was found that the ZnO etch rate showed a non-monotonic behavior with an increasing BCl3 fraction in the BCl3/Ar plasma, along with the RF power, and gas pressure. At a BCl3 (80%)/Ar (20%) gas mixture, the maximum ZnO etch rate of 50.3 nm/min and the maximum etch selectivity of 0.75 for ZnO/Si were obtained. Plasma diagnostics done with a quadrupole mass spectrometer delivered the data on the ionic species composition in plasma. Due to the relatively high volatility of the by-products formed during the etching by the BCl3/Ar plasma, ion bombardment in addition to physical sputtering was required to obtain the high ZnO etch rates. The chemical state of the etched surfaces was investigated with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Inferred from this data, it was suggested that the ZnO etch mechanism was due to ion enhanced chemical etching.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Nanotechnology
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