Pulsed mode atomic layer etching of ScAlN using Cl2/C2H4/Ar
Abstract
In this work, a pulsed mode atomic layer etching for scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) thin films was proposed. Atomic-level precision control over ion-assisted etching and dynamic by-product desorption was achieved by developing a Cl2 + C2H4/Ar cyclical etching process. The introduction of C2H4 etching gas effectively suppresses surface residues originating from ScCl3. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis reveals negligible changes in the atomic composition during the etching process, while atomic force microscopy characterization demonstrates improved post-etch surface smoothness, with a root mean square roughness of 0.204 nm. This work provides valuable insights into low damage gate trench etching for ScAlN-based devices.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (14)
Zhuanli Ma
Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 1 , Beijing 100029,
Ke Wei
The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 West Xianning Road, Xi’an 710049, People’s Republic of China
Hongling Xiao
Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences 3 , Beijing 100083,
Sheng Zhang
Xiaojuan Chen
Jiaqi Guo
Jianchao Wang
Kaiyu Wang
Department of Chemistry
Xiaoqiang He
State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Jinan University, 601 Huangpu Avenue West, Guangzhou 510632, China
Xinguo Gao
Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 1 , Beijing 100029,
Yingkui Zheng
Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 1 , Beijing 100029,
Xinhua Wang
Sen Huang
Xinyu Liu