THE PLASMA-ETCHING OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS

Microelectronic fabrication requires the repeated use of etching processes in a variety of materials to delineate fine-scale circuit features with submicrometer dimensions. Plasma-assisted etching combines chemical etching by reactive neutral gas phase species with bombardment by charged plasma ions to form volatile final etch products. This ion-neutral interaction makes possible highly directional etching in semiconductors, metals, polymers, and dielectrics, with satisfactory etch rates and process yields.