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Dry etching method and apparatus

a technology of dry etching and etching tubes, which is applied in the direction of electrical apparatus, basic electric elements, electric discharge tubes, etc., can solve the problems of mixed gas of methane or halomethane and hydrogen, difficult to ensure the flatness (specularity) of the surface, and difficult to perform such treatment within a desired period of tim

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-07-28
TANABE HIROSHI +2
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a dry etching method for InP-based compound semiconductor substrates that allows for control of the angle of inclination of via holes or recesses formed in the substrate, while also allowing for independent control of plasma density and ion energy. The method uses a flat discharge coil or a flat antenna to generate plasma in the reaction chamber, and a high-frequency power source to control the ion energy that reaches the substrate. The method also allows for control of the etching rate and the angle of inclination of via holes or recesses by adjusting the frequency of the high-frequency power or the bias high-frequency power applied to the substrate. The use of different types of gas as the etching gas can also change the angle of inclination of via holes or recesses in the substrate."

Problems solved by technology

Control of anisotropy of fabrication shape, however, requires supply of considerable electric power, which may cause plasma damage on surfaces of substrates or thin films and may make it difficult to ensure flatness (specularity) of the surfaces.
In other words, a highly selective process is required and high-speed etching is indispensable for a resist mask; however, it is difficult to perform such treatment within a desired period of time with RIE plasma of the mixed gas of methane or halomethane and hydrogen.
In addition, it has conventionally been difficult to obtain satisfactory fabrication shapes in etching of InP material with chlorine-based gas, because a vapor pressure of chloride of In has been low.

Method used

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  • Dry etching method and apparatus
  • Dry etching method and apparatus

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first embodiment

[0058] As high-frequency power that is applied by the high-frequency power source 4 for the discharge coil, as the high-density plasma source, may be applied frequencies not lower than 13.56 MHz, to be more specific, frequencies of 13.56 MHz, 27.12 MHz, 40.68 MHz, 60 MHz, 80 MHz, 100 MHz, or UHF frequencies from 300 MHz to 3 GHz. Practically, 13.56 MHz is most preferable for the dry etching method and apparatus according to the

[0059] On the other hand, a bias voltage with a frequency not higher than 13.56 MHz may be applied to the substrate electrode 6 by the high-frequency power source 8 for substrate electrode. To be more specific, 13.56 MHz, 2 MHz, 800 kHz, and 500 kHz may be used as the frequency of the bias voltage that is applied to the substrate electrode 6. Among those, practically, 500 kHz, that can maximize an etching rate, is preferable for the dry etching method and apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0060] The substrate 7 is subjected to dry etching in a high-...

second embodiment

[0083] Control of operations of devices 2, 3, 4, 8, and the like in the dry etching apparatus in accordance with the second embodiment is constituted so as to be executed automatically by a control device 1000. On condition that pertinent information illustrated in FIG. 8 has been stored in a memory 1001 of the control device 1000 in advance, an operator is capable of making the apparatus execute dry etching, for example, at a desired angle of inclination or a desired etching rate on basis of the pertinent information, in control of the angle of inclination and the like under various conditions that will be described later.

[0084] Hereinbelow, working examples of the dry etching apparatus and method of the second embodiment will be described.

[0085] In an example, a frequency of high-frequency power that is applied to the antenna is from 27.12 to 100 MHz, a frequency of bias high-frequency power that is applied to an InP substrate is 500 kHz, gas that is selected from four types of g...

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Abstract

A dry etching method and apparatus are provided which are capable of performing deep etching fabrication rapidly on a substrate of an InP-based compound semiconductor. Etching gas is fed into and exhausted from a reaction chamber so that an interior of the chamber is controlled to be under a predetermined pressure. Plasma is then generated in the reaction chamber by application of at least 13.56 MHz high-frequency power to a flat spiral discharge coil or a flat antenna that is provided so as to face an InP-based compound semiconductor substrate placed on a substrate electrode in the reaction chamber, and the substrate is etched while a density of the plasma and ion energy that reaches the substrate are controlled.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 10 / 197,465, filed Jul. 18, 2002.BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a process of manufacturing a compound semiconductor, relates to a dry etching method for fabricating an InP or epitaxially grown thin film thereof with satisfactory controllability and anisotropically, and particularly relates to a dry etching method and apparatus using ions generated by an induction coupling plasma (ICP) source or plasma having a high frequency in bands of VHF, UHF, and the like. [0003] Etching fabrication techniques for a compound semiconductor are used for manufacturing various compound semiconductor elements such as a semiconductor laser and an optical modulator. Though wet etching has been employed for etching of a compound semiconductor for a long time, increasing demand for improvement in uniformity of fabrication dimensions in wafer surfaces in recent years has promoted studies of dry etching tec...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H01J37/32H01L21/306
CPCH01J37/321H01L21/30621H01L21/02019H01J37/32935
Inventor TANABE, HIROSHIOKUMURA, TOMOHIROIMAI, HIROSHI
Owner TANABE HIROSHI