Papers by Keyword: Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching

Abstract: Due to its inert chemical nature, plasma etching is the most effective technique to pattern SiC. In this paper, dry etching of 4H-SiC substrate in Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) has been studied in order to evaluate the impact of process parameters on the characteristics of etching such as etch rate and trenching effect. Key process parameters such as platen power and ICP coil power prove to be essential to control the SiC etch rate. On the other hand, the ICP coil power and the working pressure mainly master the trenching effect. Our results enlighten that high etch rate with minimal trenching effect can be obtained using high ICP coil power and low working pressure.

Abstract: We demonstrate a top-down fabrication technique for nanometer scale silicon carbide (SiC) pillars by using inductively coupled SF6/O2 plasma etching. The obtained SiC nanopillars exhibit high anisotropy features (aspect ratio ~ 6.5) with high etch depth (>7 μm). The etch characteristics of SiC nanopillars obtained under these conditions show a high etch rate (550 nm/min) and a high selectivity (over 60 for Ni mask). We obtained hexagonal symmetry of SiC nanopillar, which might be attributed to the crystallographic structure of the SiC phase.

Abstract: A top-down fabrication technique for nanometer scale silicon carbide (SiC) pillars has been demonstrated by using inductively coupled SF₆/O₂ plasma etching. At optimal etching conditions, the obtained SiC nanopillars exhibit high anisotropy features (aspect ratio ~ 6.5) with high etch depth (>7 μm). The etch characteristics of SiC nanopillars under these conditions show a high etch rate (550 nm/min) and a high selectivity (over 60 for Ni).