Atomic layer etching in close-to-conventional plasma etch tools

Atomic layer etching using plasma is a cyclical etching process of gas dosing and surface bombardment that removes material layer by layer, and has the potential to remove single atomic layers. The authors consider how a conventional plasma etcher can be modified to perform this style of recipe and give results for silicon etching using a chlorine/argon plasma. The need for precise control of ion bombardment energy and gas dose is highlighted.