Pulse–time-modulated electron cyclotron resonance plasma discharge for highly selective, highly anisotropic, and charge-free etching

Highly selective, highly anisotropic, notch-free, and charge-buildup damage-free silicon etching is performed using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) Cl2 plasma modulated at a pulse timing of a few tens of microseconds. A large quantity of negative ions are produced in the afterglow of the pulse-time-modulated plasma. The decay times of electron density, electron temperature, and sheath potential are considerably reduced. This is attributable to negative-ion generation. Furthermore, the pulse-time-modulated plasma reduces the time averaged sheath potential. As a result of these effects, charged particles in the sheath are drastically modified from the continuous discharge, and they should improve the selective etching in the pulsed ECR plasma and eliminate charge accumulation on the substrate. Additionally, negative-ion generation dramatically improves the plasma potential distributions in the nonuniform ECR plasma. This technique is also suitable for large scaled etching processes.