DETERMINATION OF ETCHING PARAMETERS FOR PULSED XENON DIFLUORIDE (XEF2) ETCHING OF SILICON USING CHAMBER PRESSURE DATA

摘要

A method for determining depletion of an etchant, an etch depth, and an etch rate during an etch of a material such as Si using an etchant such as xenon difluoride (XeF2)in a pulsed etching system in real time measuring pressure within a closed system during the etch. Coupling the pressure data with the knowledge of the chemical reactions allows for the determination of the etching parameters of interest. While the etch of Si using XeF2 is used for demonstration, the method may be generalized to any closed volume system provided there is a net change in number of moles of gaseous species present in the system before and after the reaction.