Effect of Dry Etching of TiO2 Thin Films Using Inductively Coupled Plasma

Abstract

In this study, the effect of the dry etching of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films was investigated with addition of O2 to BCl3/Ar plasma. The maximum etch rate of TiO2 thin films and the selectivity of TiO2 to SiO2 were 100 nm/min and 1.07 in O2/BCl3/Ar (= 3:4:16 sccm) plasma, respectively. In addition, the etch rate and selectivity were measured as functions of the etching parameters, such as the gas mixing ratio, RF power, DC-bias voltage, and process pressure. The chemical state on the etched surface of TiO2 thin films were investigated by the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. To determine the re-deposition and reorganization of residues on the surface, the surface morphology and roughness of TiO2 thin films were examined by the atomic force microscopy.