Inductively coupled plasma etching of BZN thin films in SF6/Ar plasmas

Etching mechanisms and characteristics of bismuth zinc niobate (BZN) thin films were investigated in inductively coupled SF6/Ar plasmas. The influences of various etching parameters including the gas flow ratio, process pressure, and ICP power on the etching results were analyzed. It is found that the chemical etching with F radicals was more effective than the physical sputtering etching with Ar ions for the inductively coupled plasma etching of BZN thin films. The mechanism of ion assisted chemical etching of BZN thin films in SF6/Ar plasmas was proposed. A maximum etch rate of approximately 43.15 nm/min for the BZN thin film was obtained at the optimum etching conditions: 3/2 for the SF6/Ar gas flow ratio, 10 mTorr for the process pressure, and 600 W for the ICP power. The surface morphology of the etched BZN thin film was observed, where was smooth and clean and no post-etch residues were remained.