Dry-Etching Mechanism of Sputtered Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 Film

The Pb(Zr1- x Ti x )O3 (PZT) etching mechanism involving an ion-assisted etching reaction in a Cl2 helicon wave plasma environment was studied in terms of the physical-bombardment-induced structural change of the film and chemical interaction of the damaged surface with halogen. In-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis of a 1 keV- Ar+-irradiated PZT surface used in combination with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry revealed that the physical bombardment preferentially breaks Pb–O bonds, releasing Pb in the crystal which is subsequently sputtered from the surface, resulting in low Pb concentration on the surface. Thermal reaction study at 600° C of Cl+-, F+- and Ar+-implanted PZT using X-ray diffraction indicated that the induced low Pb concentration initiates the subsequent reaction with existing halogen on the damaged surface, which is accompanied by a structural change in the film.