• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.29-32
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• 2004

This work was devoted to an investigation of etching mechanisms for $(Ba,Sr)TiO_3$ (BST) thin films in inductively coupled $CF_4/Ar$ plasma. We have found that an increase of the Ar content in $CF_4/Ar$ plasma causes non-monotonic behavior of BST etch rate, which reaches a maximum value of 40 nm/min at 80% Ar. Langmuir probe measurements show a weak sensitivity of both electron temperature and electron density to the change of $CF_5/Ar$ mixing ratio. O-D model for plasma chemistry gave monotonic changes of both volume densities and fluxes for active species responsible for the etching process. The analysis of surface kinetics confirms the possibility of non-monotonic etch rate behavior due to the concurrence of physical and chemical pathways in ion-assisted chemical reaction.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.564-568
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• 2003

The etching of Au thin films have been performed in an inductively coupled CF$_4$/Cl$_2$/Ar plasma. The etch rates were measured as CF$_4$ contents added from 0 to 30 % to Cl$_2$/Ar plasma, of which gas mixing ratio was fixed at 20%. Other parameters were fixed at an rf power of 700 W, a dc bias voltage of 150 V, a chamber pressure of 15 mTorr, and a substrate temperature of 3$0^{\circ}C$. The highest etch rate of the Au thin film was 3700 $\AA$m/min at a 10% additive CF$_4$ into Cl$_2$/Ar plasma. The surface reaction of the etched Au thin films was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. XPS analysis indicated that Au reacted with Cl and formed Au-Cl, which is hard to remove on the surface because of its high melting point. The etching products could be sputtered by Ar ion bombardment.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2020

W₂C is synthesized through a reaction-sintering process from an ultrafine-W and WC powder mixture using spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of various parameters, such as W:WC molar ratio, sintering temperature, and sintering time, on the synthesis behavior of W₂C is investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the microstructure, and final sintered density. Further, the etching properties of a W₂C specimen are analyzed. A W₂C sintered specimen with a particle size of 2.0 ㎛ and a relative density over 98% could be obtained from a W-WC powder mixture with 55 mol%, after SPS at 1700℃ for 20 min under a pressure of 50 MPa. The sample etching rate is similar to that of SiC. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, it is confirmed that fluorocarbon-based layers such as C-F and C-F2 with lower etch rates are also formed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.213-213
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM), based on magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and CMOS, is one of the best semiconductor memories because it can provide nonvolatility, fast access time, unlimited read/write endurance, low operating voltage and high storage density. For the realization of high density MRAM, the etching of MTJ stack with good properties is one of a key process. Recently, there has been great interest in the MTJ stack using MgO as barrier layer for its huge room temperature MR ratio. The use of MgO barrier layer will undoubtedly accelerate the development of MTJ stack for MRAM. In this study, high-density plasma reactive ion etching of MgO films was investigated in an inductively coupled plasma of $Cl_2$/Ar gas mixes. The etch rate, etch selectivity and etch profile of this magnetic film were examined on vary gas concentration. As the $Cl_2$ gas concentration increased, the etch rate of MgO monotonously decreased and etch slop was slanted. The effective of etch parameters including coil rf power, dc-bais voltage, and gas pressure on the etch profile of MgO thin film was explored, At high coil rf power, high dc-bais voltage, low gas pressure, the etching of MgO displayed better etch profiles. Finally, the clean and vertical etch sidewall of MgO films was achieved using $Cl_2$/Ar plasma at the optimized etch conditions.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.106-109
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• 2011

We investigated the etching characteristics of titanium nitride (TiN) thin film in $BCl_3$/Ar inductively coupled plasma. The etching parameters were the gas mixing ratio, radio frequency (RF) power, direct current (DC)-bias voltages and process pressures. The standard conditions were as follows: total flow rate = 20 sccm, RF power = 500 W, DC-bias voltage = -100 V, substrate temperature = $40^{\circ}C$, and process pressure = 15 mTorr. The maximum etch rate of TiN thin film and the selectivity of TiN to $Al_2O_3$ thin film were 54 nm/min and 0.79. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed no accumulation of etch byproducts from the etched surface of TiN thin film. The TiN film etch was dominated by the chemical etching with assistance by Ar sputtering in reactive ion etching mechanism, based on the experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.199-199
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• 2009

실리콘을 기판으로 하는 대부분의 태양전지에서는 표면반사에 의한 광 에너지 손실을 최소화 시키고자 습식에칭 (wet etching)에 의한 텍스쳐링 처리가 이루어진다. 그러나 습식 에칭은 공정 과정이 번거롭고 비용이 많이 든다. Inductively Coupled Plasma Etcher 장비를 이용한 플라즈마 에칭 (plasma etching)을 실리콘 표면에 적용하여 공정을 간단하고, 저렴하게 하며 반사도를 획기적으로 낮추는 기술을 개발되었다. 플라즈마 에칭으로 형성된 나노구조는 내부전반사를 일으키며 대부분의 태양에너지를 흡수한다. 나노구조는 필라(pillar)의 형태로 나타나며, 이는 플라즈마 에칭 시 발생하는 이온폭격과 에칭 측벽 식각 보호막 (SiOxFy : Silicon- Oxy-Fluoride)의 형성 때문이다. 최저의 반사도를 얻기 위해서 나노필라 형성에 기여하는 플라즈마 에칭 시간, RF bias power, SF6/O2 gas ratio의 변화에 따른 실험이 진행되었다. 플라즈마 발생 초기에는 표면의 거칠기만 증가할 뿐 필라가 형성되지 않지만 특정조건에서 4um 이상의 필라를 얻는다. 이 구조에 알루미늄 전극을 형성하여 전기적 특성을 관찰하였다. 플라즈마 에칭을 적용하여 제작된 태양전지는 표면의 반사도가 가시광 영역에서 약 1%에 불과하며, 마스크 없이 공정이 가능한 장점이 있다.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.1011-1015
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• 2002

In this study, Au thin films were etched with a Cl$_2$/Ar gas combination in an inductively coupled plasma. The highest etch rate of the Au thin film was 3500 A/min at a Cl$_2$/(Cl$_2$+Ar) gas mixing ratio of 0.2. The surface reaction of the etched Au thin films was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. There is Au-Cl bonding by chemical reaction between Cl and Au. During the etching of Au thin films in Cl$_2$/Ar plasma, Au-Cl bond is formed, and these products can be removed by the physical bombardment of Ar ions[l].

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.87-90
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• 2005

$SiO_2$ via-hole etching with a high aspect ratio is a key process in fabricating ULSI devices; however, accumulated charge during plasma etching can cause etching stop, micro-loading effects, and charge build-up damage. To alleviate this concern, charge-up damage sensor was fabricated for the ultimate goal of real-time monitoring of accumulated charge. As an effort to reach the ultimate goal, fabricated sensor was used for electrical potential measurements of via holes between two poly-Si electrodes and roughly characterized under various plasma conditions using statistical design of experiment (DOE). The successful identification of potential difference under various plasma conditions not only supports the evidence of potential charge-up damage, but also leads the direction of future study.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.681-685
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• 2012

We investigated the dry etching characteristics of TiN in $TiN/Al_2O_3$ gate stack using a inductively coupled plasma system. TiN thin film is etched by BCl3/He plasma. The etching parameters are the gas mixing ratio, the RF power, the DC-bias voltages and process pressures. The highest etch rate is in $BCl_3/He$ (25%:75%) plasma. The selectivity of TiN thin film to $Al_2O_3$ is pretty similar with $BCl_3/He$ plasma. The chemical reactions of the etched TiN thin films are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The intensities of the Ti 2p and the N 1s peaks are modified by $BCl_3$ plasma. Intensity and binding energy of Ti and N could be changed due to a chemical reaction on the surface of TiN thin films. Also we investigated that the non-volatile byproducts such as $TiCl_x$ formed by chemical reaction with Cl radicals on the surface of TiN thin films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.363-366
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• 2000

In this study, SrBi$_2$Ta$_2$$O_{9}$ (SBT) thin films were etched at different Cl$_2$gas mixing ratio in Cl$_2$/Ar. The maximum etch rate of SBT was 883 $\AA$/min in Cl$_2$(20%)/Ar(80%). The result indicates that physical sputtering of charged particles is dominant to chemical reaction in etching SBT thin films. To evaluate the changes of morphology and crystallinity on the near surface of etched SBT, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used. The rms values of etched samples in Ar only or Cl$_2$ only plasma were higher than that of as-deposited, Cl$_2$/Ar Plasma. The SBT (105) crystalinity of the etched samples decreased in Af only or Cla only plasma, but maintain constant in ClyAr plasma. This can be illustrated by a decrease of Bi content or nonvolatile etching products (Sr-Cl and Ta-Cl), resulting in the changes of stoichiometry on the etched surface of the SBT thin films. The decrease of Bi content and nonvolatile etch products were revealed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS).).