Optical emission spectrometry of plasma in low-damage sub-100nm tungsten gate reactive ion etching process for compound semiconductor transistors

In this study, we investigate it? situ optical emission spectra from plasma in the reactive ion etching (RIE) of tungsten, a suitable candidate for gate metallization in compound-semiconductor-based high-mobility channel devices. This results in a detailed understanding of the effects of etching parameters vital to reducing etch induced damage and improving etching performance. A SF6 based chemistry was used with other functional gases, such as N-2, O-2, and CHF3. Van de Pauw (VdP) structures on GaAs based high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) layer structures were used for evaluating plasma-induced damage in the RIE process. The optimised process results in a maximum increase of 15% in the sheet resistance of the semiconductor material. Etched tungsten line widths down to 25 nm with well controlled profile were obtained by adjusting the etching conditions based on the understanding of the etching mechanism.