SF6 plasma etching and profile evolution of silicon in microplasma reactor

Abstract

Microplasma has been applied widely in micro- and nano-device fabrication. The etching performance and profile evolution are crucial for realization of Scanning Plasma Etching (SPE). In this work, silicon etching in SPE with microplasma reactor will be discussed through multi-fluid plasma model integrated with Monte Carlo model. The relationship between etching rate and tip-sample distance is discussed. The evolution of etched silicon profile is also investigated through simulation of feature diameter and etching depth with the time. The result of simulation will provide a foundation for optimization of operative conditions of SPE.