ICP-RIE: Dielectric Etcher

Dielectric Etcher Instrument Type Etching Techniques Dielectric Material Etching Staff Manager Nathan S. Lee Staff Email nathslee@caltech.edu Staff Phone 626-395-1319 Reserve time on FBS Request training via FBS User Dashboard Lab Location B235 Steele Lab Phone 626-395-1532 Manufacturer Oxford Instruments Model Plasmalab System 100

Description

The Dielectric inductively-coupled plasma reactive-ion etcher (ICP-RIE) is an Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology Plasmalab System 100 ICP-RIE 380 system that is optimized for silicon etching. This system is configured for silicon etching with "pseudoBosch" C₄F₈ and SF₆ gases, and cryogenic silicon etch with SF₆ and O₂. The silicon ICP-RIE has a variable temperature stage (-150 to 400 °C). This system supports wafer sizes up to 6 inches, and provides accurate deep etching capabilities for silicon and "silicon-like" samples only.

Applications

• Cryogenic etch of silicon
• pseudo-Bosch of silicon

Allowed material in Dielectric Etch System

• Si, Si_xN_y, Ge
• PMMA/ZEP/SPR/AZ/maN resists, SiO_x/Al₂O₃ hard masks
• No metals

Dielectric Etcher Gas List

• SF₆
• C₄F₈
• O₂
• Ar
• N₂
• CHF₃
• N₂O
• NH₃

Resources

SOPs & Troubleshooting

• General Use SOP
• Power Up Oxford ICP-RIE SOP
• Gas Status Board SOP

Process Documents

• Process Standards
• Silicon Waveguide Etch
• Silicon Nitride etch
• Cryo-Si Etch
• Etch chamber cleaning recipes

Review Articles

• Guidelines for Etching Silicon MEMS Structures
• Etch rates for MEMS Processing - Part I
• Etch Rates for MEMS Processing - Part II
• Dry Etching of Electronic Oxides, Polymers, and Semiconductors
• Alumina etch masks for fabrication of high-aspect-ratio silicon micropillars and nanopillars
• David Henry's thesis on dry etching in the KNI's tools

Manufacturer Manuals

• Oxford Plasmalab System 100 Dielectric Etcher Manual (login to LabRunr required)
• Edwards Pyrophoric Conditioning System Manual
• Edwards QDP 80 dry vacuum pump Manual

Specifications

Manufacturer Specifications

• Manufacturer System Configuration

System Features

• Universal base console which houses the electronic sub systems, control units, pneumatics, and turbomolecular pump
• PC 2000 Operating system
• ICP process chamber with 200 mm pumping port, view port and end-point-detection ports for optical emission spectrometer and laser interferometer
• Variable height 240 mm Cryo RIE electrode
• Parameter ramping software (Not Bosch)
• 100-mTorr, temperature-stabilized capacitance manometer for process control with an active penning gauge for base pressure measurement
• 200 mm pumping port is fitted with a 200mm variable gate valve for chamber isolation and process pressure control
• Twelve line gas pod with 7 non-toxic and 3 toxic digital mass-flow-controlled gas lines
• Chamber Gas ring, with split gas manifold
• Alcatel 1300 l/s MAGLEV turbo pump
• Single-wafer automatic insertion load lock with soft pump option

System Specifications

• Chamber wall heating 80 °C
• Cryo table range -140 to 400 °C
• ICP 380 mm remote high-density plasma source with 5 kW RF generator and automatic matching unit close-coupled to the source.
• Substrate bias control by 30 / 300 W RIE source
• Helium back-side wafer cooling