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Physical and Chemical Sputtering at Very Low Ion Energy: the Importance of the Sputtering Threshold

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

Christoph Steinbruchel
Christoph Steinbruchel*
Affiliation:
Materials Engineering Department and Center for Integrated Electronics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180-3590
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Abstract

A variety of data for physical etching (i.e. sputtering) and for ion-enhanced chemical etching of Si and SiO2 is analyzed in the very-low-ion-energy regime. Bombardment by inert ions alone, by reactive ions, and by inert ions in the presence of reactiveneutrals is considered. In all cases the etch yield follows a square root dependence on the ion energy all the way down to the threshold energy for etching. At the same time, the threshold energy has a non-negligible effect on the etch yield even at intermediate ion energies. The difference between physical and ion-enhanced chemical etch yields can be accounted for by a reduction in the average surface binding energy of the etch products and a corresponding reduction in the threshold energy for etching. These results suggest that, in general, the selectivity for ion-enhanced etch processes relative to physical sputtering can be increased significantly at low ion energy.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 129: Symposium B – Laser and Particle-Beam Modification of Chemical Processes on Surfaces , 1988 , 477
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1989

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References

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