In situ Post Etch Treatment on Ge-rich GST after etching in HBr-based plasma

Abstract

After patterning of Phase Change Memory (PCM) stack, residues are growing after etching and air exposure. This kind of defect might lead to severe impacts on the devices performances and reliability. In this work, we study the modification of the Ge-GST surface after HBr-based plasma etching and air exposure. We evaluated the CH4-based in situ post etch plasma treatments as a solution to protect Ge-GST and prevent the formation of residues.