• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.725-730
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• 1996

The key process in silicon surface micromachining is the selective etching of a sacrificial layer to release the silicon microstructure. The newly developed anhydrous HF/$CH_3$OH gas phase etching of TEOS (teraethylorthosilicate) sacrificial layers onto the polysilicon and the nitride substrates was employed to release the polysilicon microstructures. A residual product after TEOS etching onto the nitride substrate was observed on the surface, since a SiOxNy layer is formed on the TEOS/nitride interface. The polysilicon microstructures are stuck to the underlying substrate because SiOxNy layer does not vaporize. We found that the only sacrificial etching without any residual product and stiction is TEOS etching onto the polysilicon substrate.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.45-50
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• 2022

The etching with high selectivity of silicon dioxide over silicon nitride is essential in semiconductor fabrication, and gas phase etch (GPE) can increase the competitiveness of the selective dielectric etch. In this work, GPE of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited SiO₂ was performed, and the effects of process parameters, such as temperature, partial pressure ratio, and gas supply cycle, are investigated in terms of etch rate and within wafer uniformity. Employing multiple regression analysis, the importance of each parameter elements is analyzed.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.204-207
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• 2016

Experimental study of UV-irradiated O₂/H₂ gas phase cleaning for PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) removal is carried out in a load-locked reactor equipped with a UV lamp and PBN heater. UV enhanced O₂/H₂ gas phase cleaning removes polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) better at lower process pressure with higher content of H₂. O₂ gas compete for UV (184.9 nm) absorption with PMMA producing O₃, O(¹D) and lower dissociation of PMMA. In our experimental conditions, etching reaction of PMMA at the substrate temperature between 75℃ and 125℃ had activation energy of about 5.86 kcal/mol indicating etching was controlled by surface reaction. Above the 180℃, PMMA removal was governed by a supply of reaction gas rather than by substrate temperature.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.52
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• pp.5.1-5.10
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• 2022

The use of Pipelines for long-distance transportation of crude oil, natural gas and similar applications is increasing and has pivotal importance in recent times. High specific strength plays a crucial role in improving transport efficiency through increased pressure and improved laying efficiency through reduced diameter and weight of line pipes. TRIP-based high-strength and high-ductility alloys comprise a mixture of ferrite, bainite, and retained austenite that provide excellent mechanical properties such as dimensional stability, fatigue strength, and impact toughness. This study performs microstructure analysis using both Nital etching and LePera etching methods. At the time of Nital etching, it is difficult to distinctly observe second phase. However, using LePera etching conditions it is possible to distinctly measure the M/A phase and ferrite matrix. The fraction measurement was done using OM and SEM images which give similar results for the average volume fraction of the phases. Although it is possible to distinguish the M/A phase from the SEM image of the sample subjected to LePera etching. However, using Nital etching is nearly impossible. Nital etching is good at specific phase analysis than LePera etching when using SEM images.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.203-206
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• 2004

For the realization of PRAM, $Ge_2Sb_2Te_5$ (GST) has been employed for the phase transition between the crystal and amorphous states by electrical joule heating. Although there has been a vast amount of results concerning the GST in material aspect for the laser-induced optical storage disc applications, the process-related issues of GST for the PRAM applications have not been reported. In this work, the etching behaviors of GST were investigated when the processing conditions were varied in the high-density helicon plasma. The etching parameters of RF main power, RF bias power, and chamber pressure were fixed at 600 W, 150 W, and 5 mTorr, respectively. For the etching processes, gas mixtures of $Ar/Cl_2$, $Ar/CF_4$, and $Ar/CHF_3$ were employed, in which the etching rates and etching selectivities of GST thin film in given gas mixtures were evaluated. From obtained results, it is found that we can arbitrarily design the etching process according to given cell structures and material combinations for PRAM cell fabrications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.175-175
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• 2000

Si(100) surfaces were exposed to gas-phase thermal-energy hydrogen atoms, H(g). We find that thermal H(g) atoms etch, amorphize, or penetrate into the crystalline silicon substrate, depending on the employed Ts range during the H(g) exposure. We find that etching is enhanced as Ts is lowered in the 300-700K range, while amorphous silicon hydride (a-Si:H) formation dominates at a Ts below 300K. This result was well explained by the fact that formation of the etching precursor, SiHx(a), and amorphization are both facilitated by a lower Ts, whereas the final step for etching, SiH3(a) + H(g) longrightarrow SiH3(g), is suppressed at a lower Ts. we also find that direct absorption of H(g) by the crystalline bulk of Si(100) substrate occurs within a narrow Ts window of 420-530K. The bulk-absorbed hydrogen evolved out molecularly from Si(100) at a Ts 80-120K higher than that for surface monohydride phase ($\beta$1) in temperature-programmed desorption. This bulk-phase H uptake increased with increasing H(g) exposure without saturation within our experimental limits. Direct absorption of H(g) into the bulk lattice occurs only when the surface is atomically roughened by surface etching. While pre-adsorbed hydrogen atoms on the surface, H(a), were readily abstracted and replaced by D(g), the H atoms previously absorbed in the crystalline bulk were also nearly all depleted, albeit at a much lower rate, by a subsequent D(g) at the peak temperature in TPD from the substrate sequentially treated with H(g) and D(g), together with a gas phase-like H2 Raman frequency of 4160cm-1, will be presented.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.6 no.S1
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• pp.59-65
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• 1997

Efficient Si(100) etching by thermal H atoms at low substrate temperatures has been achieved. Gas-phase etching product $SiH_4$(g) upon H atom bombardment resulting from direct abstraction of $SiH_3$(a) by impinging H atoms was detected with a quadrupole mass spectrometer over the substrate temperature range of 105-408 K Facile depletion of all surface silyl ($SiH_3$) groups the dissociative adsorption product of disilane ($Si_2H_6$) at 105K from Si(100)2$\times$1 by D atoms and continuous regeneration and removal of $SiD_3$(a) were all consumed. These results provide direct evidence for efficient silicon surface etching by thermal hydrogen bombardment at cryogenic temperatures as low as 105K We attribute the high etching efficiency to the formation and stability of $SiH_3$(a) on Si(100) at lowered surface temperatures allowing the $SiH_3$(a) abstraction reaction by additional H atom to produce $SiH_4$((g).

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.113-122
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• 1996

As integrity of semiconductor device is increased, accurate and efficient modeling and recipe generation of semiconductor fabrication procsses are necessary. Among the major semiconductor manufacturing processes, dry etc- hing process using gas plasma and accelerated ion is widely used. The process involves a variety of the chemical and physical effects of gas and accelerated ions. Despite the increased popularity, the complex internal characteristics made efficient modeling difficult. Because of difficulty to determine the control input for the desired output, the recipe generation depends largely on experiences of the experts with several trial and error presently. In this paper, the optimal control of the etching is carried out in the following two phases. First, the optimal neural network models for etching process are developed with genetic algorithm utilizing the input and output data obtained by experiments. In the second phase, search for optimal control inputs in performed by means of using the optimal neural network developed together with genetic algorithm. The results of study indicate that the predictive capabilities of the neural network models are superior to that of the statistical models which have been widely utilized in the semiconductor factory lines. Search for optimal control inputs using genetic algorithm is proved to be efficient by experiments. (author). refs., figs., tabs.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.395-401
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• 2013

In-situ optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is employed for leak detection in plasma etching system. A misprocessing is reported for significantly reduced silicon etch rate with chlorine gas, and OES is used as a supplementary sensor to analyze the gas phase species that reside in the process chamber. Potential cause of misprocessing reaches to chamber O-ring wear out, MFC leaks, and/or leak at gas delivery line, and experiments are performed to funnel down the potential of the cause. While monitoring the plasma chemistry of the process chamber using OES, the emission trace for nitrogen species is observed at the chlorine gas supply. No trace of nitrogen species is found in other than chlorine gas supply, and we found that the amount of chlorine gas is slightly fluctuating. We successfully found the root cause of the reported misprocessing which may jeopardize the quality of thin film processing. Based on a quantitative analysis of the amount of nitrogen observed in the chamber, we conclude that the source of the leak is the fitting of the chlorine mass flow controller with the amount of around 2-5 sccm.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 1999

The plasma etching of tungsten thin films has been studied with $SF_6$ gas in RIE system. The etch rate of ${\alpha}$-phase W film with $SF_6$ gas plasma has been showed to depend strongly on process parameters ($SF_6$, $SF_6-N_2$ gas). Effect of $N_2$ addition and etching selectivity between W film and photoresist have also been studied in detail. Etching profiles between W film and photoresist were investigated by SEM. The compounds on W surface after $SF_6-N_2$ gas plasma treatment were examined by XPS and the concentration of F ions was detected by OES during plasma on.