An etching processing method and a semiconductor manufacturing system

Abstract

A new dry etching method, wet-like atomic layer etching (ALE), or nanomist ALE for semiconductor devices containing W-based materials, has been developed. This dry etching method uses sequential steps of oxidation and removal of the modified layer (WO3) by dissolution it in a nanomist flow at reduced pressures in the same process system to precisely control the oxidizer and etchant amount and as well as to significantly reduce the chemical waste and total process time compared to the conventional dry-wet ALE, in which the second step uses the wet etching. Instead of using liquid, using nanomist with controlled size and applying the Leidenfrost effect to modify / etch the surface by the vapor layer existing under the nanomist can prevent the damage such as pattern collapse of micro- or nano-scale structures in wet etching which is a major concern in microfabrication.

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