Atomic Precision Device Fabrication Using Cyclic Self-Limiting Plasma Processes: Involving Silicon, Silicon Nitride, and Silicon Dioxide

Abstract

Advanced logic, interconnect, contact, and memory at 5 nm and 3 nm put nearly impossible process requirements on material removal and addition processes. So-called atomic precision fabrication of topographic structures means high-fidelity pattern replication and the placement of films with perfect conformity and no more than a few atoms' length variation across a wafer. This is achieved with very precise electrical and mechanical material property requirements retained through the entirety of processing. In other words, perfect selectivity is implied as a need for etch and deposition steps on all surfaces at any orientation. Cyclic processes with self-limiting chemical behavior on substrates have emerged as a means of addressing critical process requirements.