Etch characteristics of MgO thin films in Cl2/Ar, CH3OH/Ar and CH4/Ar plasmas

被引：8

作者：

Lee, Il Hoon ^{[1
]}

Lee, Tea Young ^{[1
]}

Hwang, Su Min ^{[1
]}

Chung, Chee Won ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Inha Univ, Dept Chem Engn, Inchon 402751, South Korea

来源：

VACUUM | 2014年 / 101卷

关键词：

MgO films; Magnetic random access memory; Dry etching; CH4/Ar gas; Hard mask; INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA; RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY; HIGH-DENSITY PLASMA; MRAM;

D O I：

10.1016/j.vacuum.2013.10.012

中图分类号：

T [工业技术];

学科分类号：

08 ;

摘要：

High density plasma etching of MgO thin films patterned with Ti (or TiN) hard masks was conducted using Cl-2/Ar, CH3OH/Ar and CH4/Ar gases. As the concentration of each gas increased, the etch rate of MgO thin films decreased and there was no enhancement of etch profiles except for those obtained using CH4/Ar gas. The etch profiles of MgO thin films under CH4/Ar gas, which is non-corrosive and non-toxic, were improved without redeposition with increasing CH4 concentration. The enhancement of etch profiles in CH4/Ar gas was attributed to both the formation of a protective layer containing hydrogen and hydroxyl species on the sidewall of the patterns and the formation of magnesium compounds during the etching. Optical emission spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses showed that magnesium hydroxide was formed due to chemical reactions on the film surface under CH4/Ar gas. Additionally, the MgO thin films were found to be etched by a physical sputtering etching mechanism that was influenced by a chemical reaction. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

引用

页码：394 / 398

页数：5

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