Molecular Dynamics Analysis of the Formation of Surface Roughness during Si Etching in Chlorine-Based Plasmas

Abstract

Addition of oxygen to Cl2 discharge is widely used in Si etching for the fabrication of gate electrodes and shallow trench isolation. As the control of etching processes becomes more critical, a deeper understanding of plasma-surface interactions is required for the formation of roughened surfaces during etching. In particular, a small amount of O2 often leads to profile anomalies such as residues, micropillars, and roughened surfaces. In this study, we focus on the mechanism underlying local surface oxidation during Si etching in Cl2/O2 plasmas, and analyze the relationship between local surface oxidation and surface roughness on the nanometer scale, by a classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The numerical results indicated that O radicals tend to break Si–Si bonds and distort the Si lattice structure; thus, nanometer-scale micromasks tend to be formed on convex roughened surfaces, owing to the reactivity of O radicals with substrate Si atoms and Cl atoms. The results also imply that the nanometer-scale micromasks significantly affect the formation of roughened surfaces and evolution of micropillars.