High resolution plasma etching with the advanced 200 mm single-wafer multi-chamber equipment MPE 3003

The second phase development of the multi-chamber plasma etching system MPE 3003 is described herein. After a brief review of the design criteria presented last year, we now describe the full implementation of the system into the semiconductor fabrication manufacturing environment. In particular the higher level functions necessary for integration into fully automated production lines have been critically assessed and are now incorporated as standard features. We report on modular installation concepts, clean room compatibility, random-access robotic wafer manipulation for all-vacuum-chamber processing and minimisation of particle generation. The user/operator interface is also defined by menu-driven software with special attention paid to the various options for end-point monitoring and control. In addition, proprietary multi-step etch processes have been developed and characterised in order to make use of the full range of facilities and advanced options currently available. (IMT

Performance of an 8" RIE etching system - the effect of cathode cover mateials

Within the project "High Resolution Plasma Etching in Semiconductor Technology - Fundamentals, Processing, Equipment", a new and versatile 8" 3-chamber single wafer RIE etching system has been constructed. Process development and comprehensive investigations of operating and etching behaviour have been undertaken for this machine. In this paper, the influence of different cathode cover materials on the etching performance will be presented. In the case of silicon etching with pure SF6 emission spectroscopy and quadrupole mass spectrometry have been applied to reveal densities of neutral particles and ions in the etch plasma under various operating conditions and for commonly used cathode cover materials (i.e. coated alumina, stainless steel, quartz, ARDEL, MACOR). On the other hand etched structures have been investigated by SEM to comment on anisotropy of the etch process, and etchrate measurements have been performed. The results elucidate the important role of non-inert cathode cove ring materials, as supplier of etch species and as a consumer of them as well. Consequently a strong loading effect is found, depending on both the size of the etched areas and cover material. An attempt to make a correlation between plasma species and etch behaviour is made for some surveyable cases. (IMT