Reactive ion etching of a-SiC:H films using CCl4 and O2 gas mixture

Abstract

Reactive ion etching (RIE) of a-SiC:H thin films in a CCl4/O2 plasma has been investigated. The effects of process parameters, in particular radio-frequency power, oxygen addition, gas flow rate, interelectrode spacing, and pumping speed, on a-SiC:H etch rate and a-SiC:H/oxide etch selectivity are reported. For the RIE of a-SiC:H in CCl4/O2 plasmas, the gas phase plasma chemistry and surface reactions appear to be more important than ion bombardment. Reactive species generated from neutral chemical reactions of oxygen in the discharge play a more dominant role than those generated from the electron impact dissociation processes.