Application of reactive plasma processing to integrated circuit manufacture

In order for plasma etching to be a viable process in integrated circuit manufacture, a number of parameters of the etching process have to be considered, of which the most important are selectivity and uniformity. Because almost all plasma etching systems will etch both mask and substrate as well as the layer intended, control of the selectivity is obviously crucial if the benefits of better line definition are to be realised. In addition the hazardous environment of high energy electrons and ions might be expected to have some effect on the electrical characteristics of the completed device. This paper discusses how these parameters are reflected in equipment design and shows results obtained from the use of plasma etching for MOS devices. (author)