A study on the Cl2/C2H4/Ar plasma etching of ITO using inductively coupled plasma

Rong Fang; Wen Jing Jiang; Xia Guo; Jin Ru Han; Guang Di Shen

doi:10.1117/12.850056

Translator Disclaimer

2 December 2009 A study on the Cl₂/C₂H₄/Ar plasma etching of ITO using inductively coupled plasma

Rong Fang, Wen Jing Jiang, Xia Guo, Jin Ru Han, Guang Di Shen

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7631, Optoelectronic Materials and Devices IV; 76310S (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.850056
Event: Asia Communications and Photonics, 2009, Shanghai, Shanghai , China

Abstract

In this study, the indium tin oxide (ITO) was etched by an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etcher using Cl₂/C₂H₄/Ar as the etching gases. The etch rates were studied as a function of RF power, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source power, working pressure and gas mixing ratio. We found that the RF Power plays a dominant role in the elevation of the etch rates, which indicates that the ITO etching in this study is a physical mechanism dominated etching. The state of the photoresist (PR) was observed after each experiment. As expected, the high power, which generally leads to a high etch rate, would distort the PR mask, resulting in a bad etched profile of the sample. Through research, we got a relatively high etch rate (~ 200nm/min) with the shape of PR mask remain undistorted. The profile, which includes the morphology of the film sidewall and surface after the etching process, was sensitive to the gas mixing ratio. We adjusted the gas mixing ratio, and observed the profile using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), then optimal morphology was get as the Cl₂/C₂H₄/Ar at the value of 30sccm/7sccm/50sccm.

Citation Download Citation

Rong Fang, Wen Jing Jiang, Xia Guo, Jin Ru Han, and Guang Di Shen "A study on the Cl₂/C₂H₄/Ar plasma etching of ITO using inductively coupled plasma", Proc. SPIE 7631, Optoelectronic Materials and Devices IV, 76310S (2 December 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.850056

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE