Anisotropic fluorocarbon plasma etching of Si∕SiGe heterostructures

Abstract

Fluorocarbon plasma etching of Si∕SiGe heterostructures is demonstrated as a method for fabrication of quantum devices with vertical sidewalls. The heterostructures consist of layers of Si and SiGe, and anisotropic etching of the heterostructures using plasmas to isolate device elements is an attractive approach to fabricating devices. A challenge that has limited the use of fluorocarbon etching is the difference in Si and SiGe etch rates under comparative conditions. Preferential etching of SiGe can lead to undercutting beneath the top Si layer, causing a reduction in critical device dimensions of unknown magnitude. By using fluorocarbon etch gases with high carbon content, fluorocarbon sidewall passivation improves the anisotropy of etched feature profiles by preventing lateral etching of SiGe. Etch results with a C4F8∕Ar∕N2 gas mixture show a straight sidewall profile through the layers of the heterostructure.